


Meeting Your Soulmates on Animal Crossing

by PunnyPearl



Series: Meeting Your Soulmates On Animal Crossing (and a couple extras) [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: All Monsters on surface, Alternate Universes, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, But mostly fluff, Completely platonic cuddle sessions, Grillby's magical drinks, I guess Slob Rus is a thing now, Little bit of angst, Old movie references, Past Scars, Plants, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader likes the stars, Reader's soul is CALM, Reader-Insert, Science, Soulmates, Soulmates can't see eachother clearly, Stars, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and gradening, muffet's amazing food, not sure what else to tag, reverse-harem - Freeform, until they do something specific, you work at a greenhouse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 52,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunnyPearl/pseuds/PunnyPearl
Summary: Ever heard of those 'red strings of fate'? Everyone has them! In fact, the moment your eyes lock with someone, you are immediately tied to that person. However, soulmates are incapable of meeting their soulmate's gaze until a certain event happens. A certain video game may be just what you need to meet your soulmates!*Inspired by Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Series: Meeting Your Soulmates On Animal Crossing (and a couple extras) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862002
Comments: 399
Kudos: 748





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little explanation of how the monsters surfaced

It was a normal tuesday, just like any other, when a rumbling came from the mountain. At first, you thought it was a rockslide or maybe an earthquake. You were proven wrong upon heading outside to see what you could only describe as monsters trouncing down the steep incline known as Mount Ebott. Your grandparents lodge attendees filed out one after another, each in silent awe at the sight that was before them. Creatures long thought dead or simply figments of people’s imaginations. It didn’t take long for the monsters to find your grandparents lodge, but when they did, nothing too extraordinary happened. Your grandpa offered to take them to the human city and a large goat happily agreed. That was your first experience with a monster. You had to admit, they were very nice and polite.

About a week later, while watching TV with your grandma, you were surprised to find that a young child, fourteen in age, was the one to save the entire monster species and liberate them onto the surface. Appalled by their ancestors' actions, people began to raise funds and start organisations to support the monsters to properly integrate them into human society.

The day you graduated from highschool, an earth shattering rumble sounded, so similar to the one that happened only a couple months prior. You and the rest of the graduating class rushed through the ceremony before being urged home. Upon your return, your grandparents were ushering a new group of monsters towards the city. This group was almost the same size as the last and behaved in much the same way as the last. This time, a female goat came forward and led the charge.

Things were calm throughout summer break. You noticed your grandparents were having a bit of trouble getting up in the mornings, but decided that it was just old age. Your heart throbbed at the thought but you decided it was for the best to just watch over them until they felt better.

Three days before summer break ended, there was a new group of monsters parked outside the lodge. They were a lot more rude than the last couple groups, and by the scars each one carried, you could tell they had been through a lot. A goat monster quite similar in stature to the king of monsters stepped forward and all but demanded refuge for his people. Your grandma, ever the patient soul, led the monsters out of the forest and towards Ebott city where they were quickly integrated into the monster system. By the fourth time around, you were too worried about your grandparents health to allow them to take the new group. This group was just as angry and snide as the last and you didn’t want them to deal with the stress of guiding a group of monsters all the way through your forest and into the city. So, you offered to take the ‘queen of monsters’ to Ebott City. The journey was silent and you noticed that every single monster was staring at the sky in awe. It warmed your heart and gave you hope that even the worst of monsters could be good.

When the fifth group of monsters appeared at your doorstep, you were in tears. They were… Gone. Your grandparents. They left. Just… Disappeared, without a trace. But you knew what they would’ve wanted you to do. So, with a heavy heart, you guided the gangly group of monsters towards Ebott city, tear tracks staining your cheeks, but with a chilling calm that the monsters probably would’ve thought eerie if they weren’t so busy admiring all of the flora and fauna that laid about your forest. You had something else to do in the city, anyway. The will in your hands crumpled with the force of your grip.

You were eighteen when the first group of monsters surfaced and nineteen when the last one did. The first time monsters came down, it was like a walk through the park. Now, it felt like a death march.

It took about three months for you to finally get your life back together and face the music. Your grandparents were missing, possibly dead somewhere. They left nearly their full fortune to you, excluding a single dollar reserved for their one and only lost son, the one who helped in conceiving you. Your patient grandma, who cared for her garden and for you with a warm smile that never withered, even towards the end; and your kind grandpa, who looked to the sky, to the stars, always wishing for a better future for all who encountered him. You wouldn’t let their deaths incapacitate you into being unable to function. You would continue, with them in your heart and in your soul. You are filled with CALM.

~~~

Sans wasn’t sure what was going on. His universe was supposed to be the only one in this world. Why were all of these carbon copies showing up, one after the other? It didn’t make sense. That is, until he ran into himself. Well, a darker, edgier version of himself. He came from the Fell underground, or so he said, and apparently, there was no human there to release his people. It just… Happened. Like something clicked and the barrier shattered.  
Sans and Fell Sans decided to group up and find out what was going on. Along the way, they met different versions of themselves and decided to all work together to find out what was happening. However, the house was getting cramped and they needed somewhere bigger to live. Memories of a quiet lodge in the woods flashed into his mind, and apparently into every other version as they all came to the same conclusion. Surely, that old couple wouldn’t mind housing them.

So, off they went, to the lodge in the woods. The one you had just packed up and moved out of. If you were going to continue living your life, you needed a change of scenery. Your high school friend offered for you to move in with her so the two of you could split the rent on a nice apartment in the middle of town. Not that the skeletons knew that.

It was to their utter surprise when they knocked on the door and it didn’t open. The people who lived there had seemed so kind and welcoming. Maybe they were out for the day? There was only a busted down truck parked out front and not a sign of life otherwise. Upon further inspection, every piece of furniture was wrapped in plastic, all of the windows but one closed and locked. Not wanting to take advantage of the situation, but not wanting to have to find a new place to inhabit, Sans decided that the best course of action was to just settle in, get a generator for electricity and pray to the stars that whoever used to live here didn’t return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Game Start!


	2. Game Start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet some friends and family

“Happy Birthday, y/n!” Coco, your best friend and roommate shouts as she bursts into your room. You grumble from the sudden intrusion to your few hours of sleep and pull the covers tighter over yourself. “Oh, no. None of that! We still have to clean up before the others get here!” She says in her usual cheery tone before wrenching the blankets from your balled-up form.

“Nooo… Twenty more minutes…” You mumble into your pillow, reaching under it for the spare blankets you keep for these sort of occasions. Coco takes those, too, dragging your form halfway off your bed in the process.

“Fine, then. But that means no presents later.” Coco says with a mischievous lilt to her tone. This catches your attention, so you wrench your head up to see if she’s being serious.

“Okay, okay! I’m up. Just lemme get changed and stuff.” You tell her, ushering her out of your room. She makes a joke about already knowing your bra size but doesn’t try to enter again once your door is closed.

Turning away from your door, you look around your room, seeing if it’s ready for guests. Your bed, which is in the right corner of your room is rumpled and the sheets are balled up into an unsightly blob. On the other side of your room is your desk which is overflowing with unorganized papers and loose writing utensils. Only the pot filled with blooming Cosmos flowers looks remotely decent. The wall going from your desk to your closet is completely covered in flowers all colored in whites, purples and blues. You do not turn to the closet. You already know it looks like trash.

Sighing loudly, you go about making your bed. The comforter is galaxy print, as are half of the pillows. The other half of your pillows are a matte white, similar to face cream. Adding the final touch of a giant owl plush Coco gave you for christmas, you move onto the desk.

Most of the papers on the desk are star maps and health guides for plants. You’ve been working at the university's greenhouse since you started college, but you still have trouble remembering all of the fun facts people like to ask about. Since you already take care of quite a few plants at home, the job isn’t all too hard and you were promoted to supervisor soon after joining. Separating the piles of papers between work, classes and hobbies, you stuff all three piles into a drawer for future reference. Not really, though. You’re probably never going to see those papers again. Opening another drawer, you sweep all of the pens, pencils, erasers, markers and rulers in then slam the drawer shut.

Turning on your heel, you come face to face with the monster that is your closet. Kids nowadays know that monsters aren’t actually out to eat them. They just want equal rights. But staring at the bulging door that surely leads to inescapable doom forces a flashback to when you were five and a tall figure in all black with a sombrero on his head stared you in the eyes until you fell asleep. When you woke up, all that was in his place was a vacuum with a discarded shirt on top of it.

Taking in a deep breath to restore your calm, and another for good luck, you throw open the door. For a second, nothing happens. Then, as if Mount Vesuvius erupted, a loud rumble sounds, followed by a tower of clothes. Both clean and dirty fall on top of you. You push out of the mountain of clothes in record time and eye it warily for a moment. Deciding it’s now or never, you delve your hands into the mound, flinging clothes into two different piles based on cleanliness. The majority of your clothes are galaxy print or have something to do with stars. The rest are flat black or white. With the sheer number of astronomy related objects you own, one would assume you were an astronomy major. They would be correct.

Finally, after organizing and folding for two hours, you manage to make your closet viewable again. Coco’s gonna be so proud! You exit your room to tell her of your accomplishments but step back when the intense smell of lemon cleaner hits your senses. It’s like someone dumped a whole bottle of the stuff on the floor.

You go back in your room and open the windows to let the air circulate then reenter the hallway, opening all of the windows you cross as you head to the kitchen, where the scent is at its strongest. There, at the dining table, is Coco, scrubbing fiercely enough at the surface to start a fire. Sweatdropping, you reach out and take her hands in your own. She falls out of her max concentration face and finally seems to acknowledge your existence.

“Oh, y/n. Are you done changing?” She asks and your mind takes a moment to process her words. A loud gasp escapes your lips and you look down, finding that you’re still in your pajamas. Coco shakes her head in exasperation before ushering you back to your room. She comments on how much better it looks as you settle on the edge of your mattress. Coco opens your closet and meticulously picks out a galaxy t-shirt and a black overall-skirt to pair with it. You throw the pieces on with the grace of a peacock. The grace of a peacock in the middle of a frozen lake, that is.

“Okay. Since your room is done, that just leaves the living room. Wanna get on that?” She asks, which you agree to. There’s not a lot to clean in the living room. Just tidy up the cushions and pillows on the couch and recliner, sweep up the dust on the floor and wrap up the loose cables trailing from the TV.

“I’m done, Coco! Wanna text them to head over?” You call, receiving an affirmative. Exactly two minutes later, a knock sounds from the front door. That must be Richie. You push the door open, only to get tackled into a hug.

“Cous! It’s nice to see you! Feels like we haven’t seen each other in forever.” He says in his naturally loud voice. Richie is your exact opposite, despite being your cousin. He’s loud, outgoing and charismatic. You, on the other hand, are a wallflower with a love of stars and plants who would rather be at home watching rom-coms than being at a party.

Despite your obvious differences, you get along pretty well. Sure, he pranks you from time to time, but it’s hard to not like someone you’ve known your whole life, who’s taken the fall for you multiple times.

“Hey Richie. Thanks for coming over.” You tell him as he bustles out of the doorway and flops onto the couch.

“It’s not like it’s hard. I literally live right next door to you. I could come over anytime!” He reminds you as he picks up the playstation controller you left out and switches the TV on. In a matter of minutes, he’s flipping through disney plus, clearly keeping an eye out for something. “Wanna watch Tangled?”

You shake out of your scrutinizing and nod in agreement, flopping into the recliner to wait for the movie to load. However, by the time it begins, the door emits a thudding yet again.

“I’ll get it!” Coco yells as she sprints to the door. You turn in your seat and catch sight of Coco’s boyfriend, Cooper. Cooper is a sea monster who works for the local highschool as a gym instructor and Monster Historian. He lives in the apartment next to yours, which you find suspiciously convenient.

“Hi, Cooper. We’re gonna watch Tangled. Wanna join?” You ask from your spot on the recliner. You miss the way he looks beyond you to see Richie shaking his head violently.

“Ah, no. Thanks though. I just wanna catch up with Coco for a bit.” He says, to which you wiggle your eyebrows at the two. Coco blushes profusely before guiding her boyfriend into the kitchen.

Two hours later, the movie is coming to an end and there is another knock on the door. You stretch out, popping your arms and back before going to the door. You open it to find Kaiya, another one of your friends. She’s incredibly kind and gentle, which is probably why she does such a great job at the nursery she works at.

“Kaiya! It’s so nice to see you! Come on in.” You tell her as you usher her inside. She giggles at your antics before taking stock of your apartment.

“Looks like Coco went on a cleaning spree again.” She says in her soft voice. She hands you her jacket which you promptly hang up and place in the closet. When you turn back around, however, she’s holding out a sealed envelope with pretty handwriting on it.

Hesitantly taking it, you slide your finger through the unsealed part, unfearing of papercuts. Once you open it your hands are completely covered in glitter and you struggle to keep the substance off of the floor. Setting aside the envelope, you open the note inside.

“Finding the first present will be a treat! Look for it where you get something to eat.” A few options shoot through your mind while you meander towards the kitchen. You open the fridge and rummage around but decide that the present isn’t in there. The next place you turn is the pantry, which you eye with trepidation. Pushing forward, you open it and there, swinging from the ceiling, is a pretty bag with another envelope attached to it. You unstick the envelope and open it, reading the contents.

“Now that you’re fed, go and look for the clue where you lay your head.” The letter says and you brush away the confetti that fell out of it.

You make your way to your room and jump on your bed, immediately crumpling your freshly made sheets. You dig around the plush material until your hand brushes against something solid. Pulling out a thin rectangular box wrapped in simple white paper, you turn it around and find the next clue scrawled messily across the paper. “Don’t tear the room apart! Just take a look at the stuff for art.” It reads and you stumble out of your bed, making sure to leave it as un-crumpled as possible. You crawl over to your desk and rummage around the drawer filled with your art supplies. After a few seconds you manage to pull out yet another rectangular box out, this one with ribbons wrapped around it.

“Look for clues, but don’t get stressed. You’ll find another where you get dressed.” Turning to your closet, you pull the door open, still a little cautious of what happened this morning. Instead of having to sift through the many shirts as you expected you’d have to, there’s a large box on the floor with your name all over it. Literally. You pick it up and find yet another envelope, this one rigged with a party popper so that when you open it, you’re blinded and are overcome with the scent of gunpowder. Ignoring your temporary lack of senses, you pull the paper from its resting place and read it over.

“Looking for the final prize? Go to where you can look into your own eyes.”

Your room doesn’t actually have a mirror in it, so you decide to go to the one hanging beside the front door’s closet. What you see reflected there fills your heart to bursting. All of your friends set up a pull-out table and chairs and placed the present you found in the kitchen on it. In the middle of the table is a large rectangular cake with candles that read “Finally 21”. Coco reenters the room with the presents you found in your room and sets them on the table while Richie guides you to the head of the table.

“Happy birthday, y/n! You better like your presents.” Coco says once you’re seated. She hands you the large box you found last, which you open happily, excited to see what it holds. Your eyes widen at the contents. While you were expecting something big, you certainly weren’t expecting a whole damn switch console.

“What the- wait a sec- you guys! You’re the best!” You exclaim at the smiling faces surrounding you.

“Well, that’s not all. What’s the point in having a console if you have nothing to play?” Richie asks as he hands you the two rectangular boxes. You delicately peel off the wrapping paper to reveal Pokemon Shield and Animal Crossing New Horizons.

“Oh wow! Now I can play with you guys. I guess I have a lot to catch up on.” You say to them. It’ll be fun to play animal crossing together, especially since they’ll be able to give you pointers.

“Oh, one more present, y/n. I think you’ll like it.” Kaiya says as she pushes the present bag in front of you. Inside is the most adorable animal crossing style carry-bag, perfect for zipping your new switch in, as well as a white hard case to keep your switch safe.

“You guys are too good to me. Geez, I'm gonna have to up my present game this year.” You tell them after gathering all the presents and pushing the trash to the floor.

“Like you don’t already have everyone's presents planned out for the next ten years. It’s like you memorized everyone’s horoscopes and planned from there.” Cooper says from his spot beside Coco. He’s not too far off from the truth.

“We should light the candles and have you make a wish, y/n. The cake’ll get soggy otherwise.” Coco says as she scoots the vanilla and strawberry flavored cake forward. In a matter of moments, the candles are lit and your friends are singing the birthday song.

Once the song is done, you take in a deep breath and blow out the candles.

‘I wish to have a lot of fun playing animal crossing this year!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Making An Islander


	3. Making An Islander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to start your island experience!

You spend the rest of your birthday curled up on the couch, setting up a nintendo account as well as your switch. Cooper turns out to be a huge help since he’s been studying up on human electronics since he surfaced. He mentions wanting to become a tech supporter once he’s earned enough money to go through college again.

“I won’t help you out with the password set-up, but i’m pretty sure you know how to do that.” He says as he hands you your phone back. You enter the password you set for all of your devices and watch as the machine happily accepts it. Within a matter of minutes, Cooper has you set up on your switch and passes the device off to you so you can set up your games.

You immediately boot up Animal Crossing and listen to the happy opening screen as the game loads into focus. For some reason, the entire game just feels so right to you, like you were meant to play it. Like it was made for you. However, as you begin picking out your character's look, your opinion quickly changes. What type of hair choices are these?! They look like the five dollar haircut you got when you were eight. A truly horrible time.

With a wave of reluctance, you pick your character’s style and press plus, hoping beyond hope that you won’t be stuck like this forever. However, when you get a full view of your character, you’re a little more happy with the outcome. She’s just so cute!

“Your character’s so cute! I can’t wait to see what islanders you start with.” Coco purrs from over your shoulder before jumping over the couch and settling beside you, bowl of popcorn in hand. “We’re gonna start marathoning Harry potter. Feel free to join in the world of the living at any time.”

You don’t feel too incredibly inclined to join her. In fact, you feel like you never want to let your switch go. It’s like your baby now. You shall protect it with your life! However, you do set down your game to snatch some popcorn before immediately returning. When you look back down, you’re standing beside a white ostrich, camouflage frog and three racoons. You can already tell that this is going to be interesting.

Three placed tents and two fetch quests later, you’re acquainted with your villagers, Blanche and Camofrog, and you’re dancing around with them, enjoying some jams and the cute little fire pit. Tom Nook tells you to turn in for the night, which you don’t feel entirely partial to, but you listen to him and jump onto your camping cot, and startle a little when the world blacks out, especially when Ron starts screaming his head off in the movie. Oh, he’s just being sucked into the devil snare. It’s all good.

“Ooh, K.K. Slider. He’s such a hottie.” Coco says from beside you and Cooper makes a face that you’ve learned to associate with disgust. Apparently, he dislikes dogs. Which is unfortunate considering Richie works with them for a living. “Relax, babe. You’re the only one for me.” Coco says as she pats down his puffed-up gills. You giggle at their antics before turning back to the game, jumping through K.K.’s dialogue.

The next thing you know, you’re walking out of your little tent and greeting Tom Nook. He gives you a phone, which you’re grateful for, but then he says something you were warned about. “It’s your itemized bill!” He says as he hands you a paper, then explains the expenses. Oh geez. You don’t have any bells? Well, you can always collect nook miles! And so, off you go. To collect weeds, wood and anything else you can find.

After half an hour of running around your island willy-nilly, you finally decide to enter the resident services tent and start actually progressing the game. Tom goes on about how Timmy will buy literally anything from you, so you take up the offer and sell all of the weeds you collected, receiving a surprising amount of money in return. Next you go to Tom and ask him about the DIY workshop, which leads to a short cutscene in which you receive some DIY tool recipes and are told to go collect five tree branches, which you already have. Rather than leaving, you talk to Tom again and craft your tools.

With your newfound power, you go out into the world again and begin chopping at trees, hitting rocks and catching bugs. It’s honestly the most chaotic thing you’ve ever done, and it feels empowering. However, after the initial power high, and after your tools start breaking one after the other, you sober up and start fixing up the island, collecting wood and selling the stuff you don’t need. 

Your friends are practically dead on their feet by the end of the second Harry Potter movie, so you and Coco usher them out then decide to head in for the night. Rather than going to sleep like a normal person, you continue to game for a while and even find out that Tom Nook wants five bugs or fish to give to his friend. Of course you take the next ten minutes to gather the critters and give them to him before finally saving and turning your game off for the day. You fall asleep easily enough.  
For the next few days, you spend most of your time either at work or in your bed playing animal crossing. You tell your work friends about your new obsession, which they tease you about but agree that animal crossing is a very cute game. One day, you forget that you strapped your switch bag around your shoulder and show up to work with it. Then get distracted halfway through your shift and begin playing again. It doesn’t take long for you to pay off your initial bill and begin saving up to pay off your house’s upgrade. You also find a cute little area for Blathers’s tent to go and begin donating critters to him whenever you find a new one. By the end of your first week playing the game, you have a museum and the Nooklings have begun construction on their little shop. You meet Mabel and are enamoured with her clothes, immediately buying some and doing a mini fashion show. By this time, you are catching up with Richie in his game, which he doesn’t seem to mind. Apparently, he has more important games to play, like Legend of Zelda. 

At the start of your second week playing animal crossing, you finally decide to bust out Pokemon Shield and make a little progress with it. However the siren call of Animal Crossing beckons to you from its spot on your desk, so you save your game and place the game card in. By this point in time, you have the opening to New Horizons ingrained into your very soul, but you don’t mind hearing it one more time. Your goal for the day is to get a new islander onto your island, which proves far less difficult than you originally thought. Once you land on the mystery island, you immediately lock eyes with a cute brown tiger in a dress. You run up to her and introduce yourself. Her name is Bangle, she’s a bit of a diva, and you absolutely must have her on your island. Since it’s getting late, you wait until it’s six and absolutely demolish the island's resources and make it a proper tarantula hunting island. You take a moment to admire your work before running off into the night with your net in hand.

“Coco! Why aren’t the islanders I asked to come to my island coming to my island?” You shout to your best friend from your spot on the couch. She pokes her head in from the kitchen and asks if you’ve talked to Tom Nook. Oh. That would make sense.

“Unless you’ve invited less than three islanders.” Coco says as she walks up to you with a bowl of cereal in hand. You take a moment to remember how many islanders you’ve invited.

“Ah, shoot, I’ve only invited Bangle and Marcie. Does that mean I'll have to wait ‘till tomorrow for that event?” You ask her as you run to the resident services tent. Once there, you purchase an island tour ticket and head back out and towards your house.  
“Pretty much. By the way, I’m surprised by the sheer amount of cute furniture you own. I kinda expected you to just make everything galaxy print.” Coco says as she observes your house, which has mostly white and pink furniture, a brown baby bear, rattan vanity and a brown-pink colored wall.

“It’s only because that’s all this game seems to want to give me. I’ve shaken so many trees and gone to Nooks Cranny everyday, and there’s always something pink or brown that’s adorable. Besides that, I've only gotten one star-based DIY and it’s a little wand. “ You tell her as you scroll through your DIY’s and gesture to the star wand Celeste gave to you one night.

“Well, the cutesy look doesn’t really suit you. I expected you to have, like, all dark blues or purples. Not… Pink and white.” She states simply as you begin organizing your pockets and putting all of your non-tool items in your storage.

Instead of responding, you run over to the Dodo airport and set your character up to go on an island tour. In the next minute, you’re landed on an island that’s flat and completely covered in bamboo. Looks like you’re going tarantula hunting tonight. But your first order of buisness is to scope out this island’s villager. Oh my stars, he’s absolutely adorable. This island's villager is a fluffy white penguin with white eyes and a cute little frog shirt. His name is Wade and you never want anything bad to happen to him.

By the start of your next work week, you have all of your villagers moved in, a cute little room that you’ve dubbed as your kitchen and all of the different types of fruits except pears. You’re feeling quite proud of your handiwork and mostly just go through the motions each day. You take out your net and begin shaking trees, catching any wasps that fall out easily enough. You came up with this tactic after getting stung one too many times and it worked almost every time. Your next order of action is to hit all of your rocks, then go to nooks cranny and see if there are any items you want. By the time that you’re done, it’s time to head to work so you hop out of your recliner and out your door. It’s going to be a great day at work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A Peony Problem


	4. A Peony Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see things from Sans point of view

“SANS! YOU MUST GET UP AND GET READY FOR WORK!” Papyrus calls from somewhere down the hall. Sans groans and sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eye sockets. Last night was yet another failure, resulting in a nearly sleepless night filled with arguing and shouting on all sides.

Sliding out of bed and into his sneakers, Sans decides that he’ll just ride the bus today. It’s safer than getting stuck in a locked janitors closet like the last time he tried shortcutting with two hours of sleep under his belt.

Struggling downstairs and into the kitchen, Sans sits at the table and flinches slightly when a plate of what’s supposed to be breakfast ‘shlop’s in front of him. He’s really gonna have to invest in cooking lessons for Papyrus if he wants to survive to next week.

As inconspicuously as possible, Sans floats the food towards the garbage and silently mourns for his empty stomach. Soon after he’s finished ‘eating’ he exits the house and waltzes away, phazing to the bus stop at the base of the mountain the lodge is based on. He ends up free falling into a tree.

Grumbling into his hood after escaping the clutches of the tree branches, Sans waits for the bus to come with a scowl on his face. When the vehicle finally pulls up, Sans gets sprayed in the face by exhaust. Before he can even reach the vehicle, it rolls away and he can make out the faint sound of its passengers' laughter as it does so.

Great. This day just keeps getting better and better.

With quite possibly the loudest, most bone-rattling sigh he’s ever had, Sans decides it’s worth the risk of getting stuck in a random building. Surely his day can’t get any worse. Content with his decision, he blinks out of existence, only to open his eyes and see that he’s in the middle of a large, practically tropical garden. He realizes fairly quickly that he doesn’t have a damn clue where he is. He walks for a while, desperately searching for an escape, but finds nothing. No one. Just a bunch of plants. That’s it. Until he hears a voice.

“Yeah, I got to work on time. Don’t worry, Coco, it’s not like someone’s gonna chew me out for opening up shop late. I’m literally in charge here.” The voice says, and Sans takes a moment to look for the voice, following it to what looks like the entrance of the building.

He looks the person over, noting little aspects about them. They’re decked out in a t-shirt with the ursa major constellation showing and black overalls that have rips at the knees. In their free hand that isn’t holding a galaxy-patterned phone is a brown paper bag with a spider on the front. His empty stomach growls as the scent of spider donuts invades his senses.

The human stops talking for a moment and looks around, and he curses at himself for not eating something, anything, for breakfast. However, when he looks back, the human has moved on, and on the table they were hovering over is a fresh spider donut in a napkin.

He whips his head around and catches sight of the human walking to the other side of the greenhouse, watering can in hand. Taking in a breath for courage, he slides out of his hiding place and heads to the exit, but stops at the table, eyeing the donut hungrily. He pulls out ten dollars from his pocket and picks up the donut, napkin and all, and puts the money in its place.

As he’s about to throw the napkin away, he notices a flower pressed into it. Rather than crumpling the napkin up, he places it into his folder to look up what type of flower it is later then finally leaves the greenhouse.

He finds that he’s actually in the middle of the university's campus and quickly redirects himself towards his building. Settling into his seat in the very center of the speech hall, he awaits his soon arriving class. He’s in a slightly better mood, everything considered, and he’s definitely more alert now that he’s consumed something.

Just as he finishes writing the lesson plan on the board, his students begin shuffling in. By the request of the king and queen of monsters, Sans agreed to teach a course on how souls and magic work in order to enlighten older humans on what monsters are all about. He didn’t really want the job, but the pay was good and he needed the money to purchase materials for the machine. He needs to fix that machine.

Pushing through the class turns out to be a lot more bearable than usual. Maybe it’s because he’s working with magic-infused food in his body, maybe it’s because he’s more awake than usual, or maybe it’s because Jacob, the class trouble-maker, isn't here today. However, he gets the feeling that it’s because of the mysterious pressed flower that his eyelights land on everytime he looks down at his notes.

He glance toward the clock and finds that it’s now about one hour ‘till his class ends and he’s able to go home. He asks his class if there’s anything else they have questions about, and immediately, one of the more dedicated students sticks her hand up.

“Mr.Serif, may I ask what flowers have to do with souls?” She asks, catching Sans completely off-guard. The entire class murmurs questions similar to hers and Sans is nearly knocked off his feet. Did they know what happened this morning?

“uh, whaddya mean by that, kiddo?” He asks, sweat beginning to bead his skull. Rather than answering, the kid points beyond him and at the whiteboard. There, on the board, is a perfect replica of the pressed flower. Sans’ nerves stop standing on end for just a moment before he turns back to the class. Maybe he could make this a learning experience, or work for extra credit.

“flowers don’t usually have much of a connection to magic, unless you’re talking about echo flowers which are grown in magic environments or buttercups, which are the staple flower for monsters for many reasons. however, it is possible to resonate with flowers, especially if they are given by people who have a soul thread with you. if the bond is meant to be important, the flower given can become a reactant, or something that elicts strong emotions within the recipient. so, to capitalize on this, i want each of you to try and remember a time where you received a flower that resonated with you, even just a little. if you haven’t received a flower, then any old gift will do. you guys got ‘till tomorrow to write out a three page essay on the gift, who gave it to you, what they mean to you and what sort of emotions you were feeling at the time of receiving the gift.” Sans say, quite proud of his improv skills. The whole soul connection phenomenon has been proven in monsters, but he kind of wants to see if it is possible for humans to have the same sort of reaction.

The students, excited about actual work rather than reading through source materials and writing opinion papers on the information, take out their laptops and open to new documents, either gathering up new knowledge or immediately going into the writing portion. Sans takes this moment to open his own laptop to pretend he’s looking at his student’s work, but he’s actually looking up a list of white-pink flowers to try and find his own soul-resonating flower.

By the end of the hour, he’s gone from A-M in the list and still has no luck. He does, however, have an entire class’ worth of essays to look through and grade. Sighing in frustration, Sans decides to go on a walk to the green house. He gets there to find the doors flung open, but when he peeks inside he can’t find the person from this morning nor the flower they left. It’s gonna eat him up until he finds out what type of flower it is.

Deciding to count his losses and return home, Sans blinks out of existence and lands on his snuggly bed. Hopping out immediately rather than savoring the warm comfort, he makes a beeline for the door, and immediately bumps into his brother who has his switch lite in one hand and his phone in the other. 

“OH, BROTHER! YOU RETURNED HOME LATER THAN USUAL. THE GAMES THAT DR. ALPHYS SUGGESTED WE PLAY JUST CAME IN. HERE’S YOUR COPY.” Papyrus says, then presses a game card into Sans’ hand. Sans takes it somewhat dazedly. His eyes are focused on something else. Because, right there, on Papyrus’s phone screen, is the flower that had been haunting him all day.

“oh, thanks, bro. but, uh, what type of flower is that? the one on your phone.” He asks, an urgent tone riddling his voice. Papyrus looks at the flowers on his screen for a moment, then seems to register what Sans had asked.

“THEY ARE PEONIES, BROTHER. WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?” Papyrus asks, a questioning crease raising his brows. He doesn’t get a reply, however, because in the next moment, Sans is gone, game clutched tightly in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: A Neat Pearing
> 
> *Chapter Updates are gonna be a bit slower from here on out


	5. A Neat Pearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the first of your soulmates in animal crossing!

You’ve been playing animal crossing non-stop. Despite this, you still have no pears. None of your friends have them, none of the islands you tour at have them. You’re honestly getting desperate at this point in time.

“You could ask an Animal Crossing Forum if they have any. Though, humans are pretty haughty. They might laugh at you.” Coco says when you ask her. Apparently, she received pears from her in-game mom, but she ate them. From then on, she accepted her fate and never even attempted to get pears again.

Taking her advice, you boot up your laptop and search up an animal crossing trading forum. However, once your request reaches the eyes of the people, you are promptly heckled off of the site. Rude.

Sighing from all of the negative feedback coming from the human Animal Crossing forum, you decide to try a monster-human site to get the pears you so desperately need. Just as you’re about to send your request, a different request pops up asking for cherries.

You take a moment to read over the person's whole request and what they’d be willing to trade for it. Your eyes catch on one of the words on the list. Pears. Licking your lips, you crack your knuckles and open up a private message between yourself and this… skeleton_peony11.

“@skeleton_peony11 - In regards to your request for cherries.

-Would you be willing to trade some of your pears for my cherries? I can send you a friend request & bring some cherries your way via online play.”

You wait in mild anticipation, hoping that whoever this person is will take your offer seriously. You glance at the four spaces on your screen where you plan to plant the pears, then begin running around, gathering cherries in case the person agrees.

Your laptop chirps with an incoming message which you open immediately. 

“@Stellar_Espresso42

-i’m grapeful for your quick reply. if you could send over your friend code, everything’d be peachy.”

Well, that went better than expected. No hassle, no name calling, just some casual fruit puns. If only everyone could be as cool as this guy.

You shoot a quick message with your friendcode in it and turn off your laptop. You doubt this person will reply, their text was pretty short and lazy looking. After, you change your character's clothes from straight-pink rain clothes to a galaxy parka, star hair clip, purple rubber toed shoes and the pair of jeans you started the game in. Mable really set you up the last time she was over. Once you're done changing, a notification pops up, telling of a friend request.

Going to the home menu, you go to your profile and click on the friend request. It’s from a “Serif Font” and their profile picture is a blue pikmin with a simple white background. You quickly accept the friend request then go back to your game. You take your time going to the airport, taking the time to shake yet another cherry tree before finally entering. You tell orville you wanna fly, visit someone, online play and… there it is. Visit “Devoid” island. Guess you could say it’s… Devoid of cherries. Heh. You shake off the thought as you notice your plane making its descent.

The island is absolutely riddled with weeds, which sets off your need to clean it up and have it organized. Lightly slapping your cheeks to refocus, you shake your head. You’re here to trade, not clean.

You exit the airport and are greeted by a sign. On it, in sloppy writing, are words and a crude drawing of what you can only assume is a sink. The words read “pls wash ur hands.” Next to the sign is a birdbath. Deciding to humor your host, you go to the birdbath and press A a few times to simulate putting your hands in the water. Once you’re done, you look around for your host, or “Peony” as his character is named.

There’s no way he doesn’t know you’re here. There was a whole loading screen and introduction for your arrival. Shaking the thought off, you decide to message Peony to try and draw him out. What better way to initiate a greeting than a knock-knock joke?

“Knock Knock”

“who’s there?” The reply comes from the top left of your screen, so that’s where you head. Once the dialogue bubble disappears, you type in the next part of the joke.

“Dishes”

“Dishes who?” He replies, but this time he’s to the right of you. Your brow scrunches up in confusion. You would’ve seen if someone crossed in front of you. Maybe he went behind you? But the speech bubble stayed to the north of the screen…

You run for a bit, following his speech bubble until it disappears. Only then do you finish the joke.

“Dishes not how I expected my evening to go.”

Right when you finish the joke, Peony pops out from behind a tree. His character has droopy blue eyes, the whitest skin tone you can pick in-game, messy brown hair and a blue sweater that looks like it was made using the Pro Design function. His character looks tired and bored. Sloppy. Kind of like his island.

“heh” He finally replies to your joke after the moment of scrutinization, most likely from both sides.

“c’mon, stella. i’ll show you to the pears.” He says then runs off. You follow him across his island and over a river to a mostly secluded part of his island. He only has one villager in this part, and it looks like they are out fishing.

He leads you to a group of trees and in the middle of the cluster are two pear trees. You shake the first tree with no problem, but when you move onto the next pear tree something unexpected happens. You shake the wrong tree. How do you know? The unmistakable sound of a wasp nest hitting the floor might clue you in.

You kick out your legs in mild distress in real life while your little character runs across the screen, their permanent smile still in place. You know for a fact that if you were in the same situation, you’d be curled up on the ground, accepting your fate.

All while you’re being chased, Peony just watches on. He doesn’t even move to take out a net, and you can imagine him laughing his butt off in real life as you run in circles, trying to find some way out of your predicament. The villager on this side of the island is definitely out fishing.

In a moment of desperation in which you notice the wasps are decently far away, you take out your net and turn around. Pressing A, you close your eyes and hope for the best. You crack your eyes open when you hear the little “yahoo!” sound that tells you you’ve successfully caught something. There, in your hands, is a common bluebottle butterfly. A freaking butterfly. In utter defeat, you decide to take a picture of yourself before you die. It’ll make a good memento.

Then you press A and accept your fate. The tell-tale sound of your adorable character thrashing about in pain and agony can be heard for a few moments before you finally look back at the screen. Dang. Darn wasps did a number on poor Stella.

Peony decides that now is the time to come running over, net in hand. He looks around expectantly before landing on your face. His character does the surprised emote, then starts laughing.

“Rude.” Your character says before you open your bag and tap on some medicine, taking it. Peony simply drops a pile of pears in front of you, which you count as his retribution.

“U want help planting cherries?” You ask him, noticing you haven’t upheld your end of the deal. His character makes the cheerful expression, so you take it as a yes. You drop half of the cherries you brought and then run off to a section of the island that only has a few trees. Judging by his complete lack of island management, you figure he won’t care about where you put the cherries, so you put them basically anywhere that looks good.

After a few minutes, you’re about ready to leave the island. That is, until someone decides to come over.

CLEMENTINE is coming to visit the island!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Is It Clementime to go home yet?


	6. Is it Clementime to go Home Yet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you meet a friendly animal crossing player and run away from Muffet's shop.

You wait patiently for “CLEMENTINE” to exit the airport, finding the whole situation absolutely hilarious. Did your host double-book himself?

Once he exits the airport, he washes his hands in the birdbath before finally turning around. Once he gets close enough to look at you, his character does the surprised emote. 

“BROTHER! IS THAT A DIFFERENT ISLANDER?!” He says, and Peony pops up from behind him.

“i’m pretty sure that’s a rock.” Peony replies, probably referring to the rock in front of you.

“OH.”

“but what’s that behind the rock?”

“GASP! IS THAT A DIFFERENT ISLANDER?” He asks, then runs in a circle, excited. While this exchange is going on, you’re observing the newcomer. He also has the whitest skin palette you can pick, with brown eyes and brown combed-over brown hair. He’s wearing an orange sweater-vest and black slacks with red slip-on loafers covering his feet. You get the feeling he’s very responsible.

“Yes, THAT is a different islander. Name’s Stella.” You decide to jump in on their conversation. Better to introduce yourself then to have the jokester do it for you.

“OH! IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU, STELLA.” He says, and before you can respond, he says something else. Dang, he’s a fast typer. “I AM THE GREAT CLEMENTINE!”

“Nice to meet you, Clementine. Wanna be friends?” You ask him, a little excited at the prospect of a new friend, especially one as excitable and fun as Clementine.

“WOWIE! MY FIRST ANIMAL CROSSING FRIEND” He replies, adopting the cheerful emote. He then sends you his friend code, which you take a picture of, then quickly type it in and send a friend request. You’re kind of proud at how quickly you made friends with this total stranger.

“NOW THAT WE'RE FRIENDS, WE CAN GO ON A DATE. MY BROTHER MAY BE INCREDIBLY LAZY, BUT HE’S FAR ALONG IN HIS MUSEUM. LET’S GO!” Clementine then runs off to where Peony’s museum is located. You’re still quite shocked at the speed of the interaction, but shake it off and follow the bubbly character to the museum.

When you get there, Clementine is waiting in the doorway. When he sees you, he waves, then enters the building. Peony’s museum is impressively filled, every exhibit has at least one thing in it. The only part that you think is lacking is the butterfly room, which only has a common bluebottle and a Rajah Brooks butterfly.

“That was fun. Wanna take a picture?” You type out as you sit on a bench in the bug exhibit. Both of your characters pull out their phones, positioning them for an optimal view. Just before you take your picture, Peony comes out of nowhere. He looks so endearing in that moment that you decide to move over on the bench. He sits beside you, with Clementine standing on your other side, and the picture turns out perfectly, at least in your eyes.

“Ok, imma log out. Guess I’ll see you guys later.” You tell them before running out of the museum and to the airport. Once you're back to your own island, you guide your character to her bed before saving and turning your console off.

Breathing in the biggest breath you’ve ever taken, you brace yourself before screaming in pure elation. Heavy, thudding steps come rocketing to your door, and Coco appears in the doorway, a crazed look in her eyes. “Who killed you?! I’ll murder them!” She roars out and bares her teeth.

“Relax, Coco. I just made some new friends is all.” You tell her, calmly crawling out of your bed.

“That’s not what it sounded like. You had me worried there. You, um, don’t really scream that often.” She tells you, which you agree with. She’s only heard you scream twice before. Once when she walked out of your closet at three in the morning, and secondly when… Well, you don’t really want to get into that right now.

“Well, that was a scream of happiness. It’s not everyday I make two new friends, after all.” You tell her as you dig through your closet for a set of outside clothes.

“Are you going to Muffet’s? If so, I want some silk cream so I can make that cake Cooper loves so much.” She tells you after you exit the closet with a full set of clothes in hand.

“Geez, you condoning to my obsession is not helping my wallet.” You tell her after you pull on your shirt that reads ‘i’m falling to pisces’ with the pisces constellation covering your abdomen.

“At least you’re not losing as much money as I would. That surly woman actually offers you discounts and stuff. I don’t think she does that for anyone.” She complains as she accompanies you to the door.

“Alright, I get it. But don’t expect the food to be fresh. I want to check up on the greenhouse after.” You tell her before she closes the door. You realize that it doesn’t matter whether or not the food is left in the sun. Monster food doesn’t go bad.

The walk to Muffet’s bakery is quick, even with your snail’s pace. It’s not far and the path is ingrained into your memory from the year and a half of walking to it everyday. The familiar, homely heat blasts your body as you walk in, which helps with the shiver you developed over the walk. The shop is familiar with it’s cute purple and red design, the small section where you can buy ingredients and your favorite monster patisserie manning the store front. The only thing that you find off is the skeleton cut-out in the corner of the shop. It isn’t even close to halloween.

When you walk closer to the section with the skeleton decoration, said skeleton turns around and you suppose they make eye-contact with you, but their face is blotted out. In fact, their whole body is blurred in your eyes. Do you need glasses?

You look away quickly and rub at your eyes. Maybe you’re just tired.

The skeleton makes a noise that you associate with laughter, and that rattles your soul. You want to go home. You don’t want to meet this skeleton.

The closer he gets to you, the more you want to bolt, and you can literally feel your soul trying to lurch away. What is going on here?  
“What’s eating you up, honey? You’re beeing awfully suspicious.” The skeleton says, but his voice is garbled and it sounds like you’re listening to him through a lead pipe. 

You don’t want to say anything to him, but the little puns he said catch your attention. Puns. You can do puns. It’s just like being back at work. “You wouldn’t beelieve me even if I told you. I just have this stinging feeling…” You mumble out, and the skeleton goes stock still. You take this moment to reach past him and grab the silk cream before bolting to the cash register, still incredibly confused that the skeleton is the only thing that you can’t see clearly.

“Ah, my two best customers at the same time~! What a pleasant surprise.” Muffet purrs when you walk up to her counter. Two best customers? Was she talking about the skeleton?

“Playing favorites, are we? Well, as long as it gets me some discounts, I guess I can forget that you’re cheating on me with someone else.” You tell her with fake hurt lacing your voice, but Muffet notices the way that your smile doesn't reach its usual height. She frowns, but doesn’t mention it.

“Well, anyway. Have I got news for you~. I’ll soon be opening my second location up here on the surface. Isn’t that just lovely~.” She tells you, which draws your attention back in from side-eyeing the skeleton who was now standing behind you in line.

“Oh! That’s great. I’ll be sure to be at the opening ceremony.” You tell her and ask for the information for the event. That is, until your soul nearly wrenches itself out of your body when the skeleton takes one step closer to you. Your face drains of color, and you quickly make your departure after grabbing your order. You edge your way around the cause of your stress; the skeleton. “It was nice catching up. See you later!” You call out before promptly exiting, heading towards your apartment building. Your soul eventually calms down and you’re able to walk at a normal pace. Guess you aren’t going to the greenhouse today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Suns Can Be Blue, Too


	7. Suns Can Be Blue, Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you meet a certain blue fella.  
> *I think I'm gonna stick with around this length chapters and update on every Sunday. Wish me luck!

“Guess who’s getting the Able Sisters today~.” You sing-song as you curl up next to Coco on the couch. You both have the day off of work and simultaneously decided to watch netflix, play video games and snack on popcorn until one or both of you knocked out.

“Geez, do you ever stop playing that game? I mean, it’s fun and all, but we got you two games for a reason.” She snips at you and pointedly opens Dragon Quest XI. You simply shrug and open Animal Crossing, enjoying the cute intro before logging in. Immediately after Isabelle’s announcement, you run to the area you placed the Able Sisters’ shop and start browsing. So many cute clothes! You make your way to the dressing room and start picking out clothes, completely disregarding your usual ‘out-of-this-world’ style, selecting mostly pink or blue clothing and absolutely falling in love with all of the different options there are. After your little shopping spree, you return to your lair- i mean home- and mash the different clothes together until you’ve found a suitable look for the day.

A blue argyle vest, blue satin pants, white pansy and white moccasin outfit later, you’re out the door and ready to play. You take a moment to just enjoy your cute little garden filled with red, white and pink cosmos. Your next order of business is to talk to your islanders. Isabelle mentioned someone coming over to camp earlier, so you head over, talking to Bangle and Marcie along the way.

The moment you walk into the camping tent, you want to leave. There’s a clown-sheep-thing just chilling. You are drawn further into the tent to speak with the sheep which you desperately DO NOT want to do.

“Coco! I got a guy in my camp, but I don’t want him. What am I gonna do?” You ask her as you curl closer to her form, showing her your screen.

“Ah, geez. That dudes creepy. Get your switch out of my face.” She says and pushes you away. After a few moments, Coco speaks up again, reading from her phone.

“Says here you have to have him join your town or else you can’t progress or get new villagers.” She says and you snatch her phone from her hands, reading the guide over.

“Dang. You weren’t lying. Ugh… Fine. But I'm totally going to ignore him ‘till he leaves.” You tell her as you pass the phone back to her. As you go back to your game, a notification appears in the north-west corner: CLEMENTINE is online! “Oh, one of my friends is on. Maybe I can play with them for a while, since you don’t wanna play with me.” You tell Coco with a pout, but she just shrugs and goes back to guiding her characters through a battle.

“Celm! Mind if I come over?” You type out on the private chat. While you wait on his reply, you scour your island for any weeds you might’ve left or that had spawned since yesterday.

“OF COURSE, STELLA! JUST SO YOU KNOW, I INVITED MY COUSIN OVER AS WELL.” Well, the more the merrier, you always say. You run to the airport and tell Orville you want to fly to a friend's island. It turns out Clementine’s island's name is “WILLOWLEAF”, which you find kind of fitting. It’s cute.

Once you’re on the island, you are greeted by wooden fencing blocking off a cute looking garden. It’s filled with lilies and tulips, perfectly lined up to create all of the color variations. Clementine runs up to you in nearly the same outfit as the last time you’d seen him, but this time he’s wearing red rain boots. Behind him is who you assume is his cousin.

“GREETINGS, STELLA! CLEMENTINE TOLD ME ABOUT YOU. MY NAME IS BLUE.” The new person, Blue, greets you, then does an emote you don’t have yet, but decide to call ‘heroic’.

“Nice to meet you, Blue. I hope we can be friends.” You type out, then perform the ‘greeting’ emote.

“OF COURSE WE CAN BE FRIENDS. WITH YOUR AMAZING FASHION SENSE, I DON’T SEE WHY NOT.” He says, and you notice that you’re wearing an outfit quite similar to his, except he’s wearing black slacks and doesn’t have a flower. His eyes are sparkly blue and his hair is the same combed style as Clementine’s.

“Thanks for the compliment. You guys both look great, too!” You tell them, and all of a sudden the three of you are caught in an all-out compliment war, which turns out to be incredibly unfair as there are two of them and only one of you.

“Alright, I heel. You two are truly the compliment kings. So, Celm, are you gonna show me around your island?” You ask him, and he gives you a full-blown tour. Town hall, Nook's Cranny ( you buy a telescope and blue painted flooring while there), Able Sisters (Of course you’re gonna buy out their store again), Museum and to finish it all off, his house. His abode is covered in warm, wood colors. His living room consists of an apple seat, brown couch and a dark-brown DIY table in the corner. He has two other rooms; a kitchen with a wooden toy table, three seats, and a refrigerator and to the left of his living room is his bedroom with a large log bed, small wooden table to the left and a grandfather clock on the wall.

“Wow, your house is really cool, Clem!” You tell him after the tour. It’s simple, yet you feel it fits his style. There could be a few more decorations, and you desperately want to hang some star lights in his room, but the house can stand on its own. It’s warm and inviting, just like its owner.

Clementine thanks you for the compliment, then all three of you exit the house and just walk around for a bit. After a while, Blue looks like he’s typing something, so both you and Clementine stop to wait for him to speak.

“PERHAPS WE COULD GO TO YOUR ISLAND NEXT, STELLA?” Blue asks, and you’re about to agree, but your phone rings. You look at the notification that reminds you that you have an early start tomorrow.

“I’d love to, but I need to go to bed soon. I have work in the morning.” You tell them, which seems to make them realize the same. They both say their good-byes once they’ve escorted you to the airport. Once your character touches down on your island, you run over to your home, hop into your bed, then you save and end the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Soaring Butterflies


	8. Soaring Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you really get to meet your soulmate.

Waking up to go to work feels like a chore. Although you’d gone to bed fairly early the night before, you’d still taken a while to actually fall asleep. The result? Perpetual exhaustion. So, it is to no one’s surprise when you find yourself in Muffet’s store, ordering a sugar donut and a cinnamon butterscotch coffee. It also isn’t surprising when you arrive to your shift five minutes late. What is surprising, at least in your opinion, is the lax faced skeleton camped out in front of your greenhouse.

Something about the monster strikes a chord. Perhaps it is his blue jacket, similar to one of your online friends' personal designs. Or maybe it’s his smooth skull, which you swear you’ve seen peeking from behind a palm sapling. Whatever it is that you find familiar, your soul seems to latch onto it and not let go.

“Um… Howdy, stranger. What can I do for you?” You ask as you approach him, fumbling with your keychain to find the one for the greenhouse. He startles at your voice and looks up. You take a moment to look him over and notice his large grin that hikes up at the corners when he catches sight of you.

“oh, i kinda just wanted to view the garden. i work on campus and have heard a lot about it.” He says, a light blue… droplet? Forming on his cranium. Is that supposed to be sweat?

“That shouldn't be too hard. My only rule is that you don’t pick any flowers. There’s gonna be an event tomorrow so we can’t have any compromised blooms.” You give him the same spiel you give everyone else, ignoring the torrent of questions that run through your mind. You want to ask him every little thing about himself, but most of the questions are inappropriate, at least from a strictly business standpoint.

You lead him through the breeding section of the greenhouse, past the small zen garden, and through a door that holds a butterfly garden. The butterfly garden is actually one of your favorite places to maintain. It’s warm, but not overly so, and the butterflies sometimes land on you, especially after you’ve had something sweet to eat. Your boss told you to keep a close eye on the room for the week, since the clinic would be held in there. That’s definitely the only reason you’re following the skeleton monster into the garden. It has nothing to do with your burning curiosity nor the slight tugging in your soul.

“So, what’s your name, stranger?” You ask the skeleton as he methodically scans each bloom, clearly looking for something specific. You can’t help but admire the little white pinpricks that you suppose substitute as his eyes. They are a bright white with a slightly navy tint around the edges. You startle a little when they land on your face.

“sans. sans the skeleton. my students call me professor serif.” He says in his unusually quiet voice. How do his students even hear him?

“Nice to meet you, Sans. My name is Y/n L/n.” You introduce yourself. You then notice that he’s stopped in front of the peonies and try to withhold a laugh. If he had brown hair and blue eyes, he’d be what you expect Peony to look like in real life.

“what do you know about peonies, y/n?” He asks as he fingers one of the soft petals, and you take a moment to scrounge up some information that people ask when they want to take care of the puffy flowers.

“Well, peonies usually fully bloom in may and june. Since our greenhouse caters to their preferred environments, however, they stay blooming throughout most of the year. They prefer slightly cooler environments and, considering our time zone, require full sunlight and a minimum of an inch of water throughout the growing season is highly suggested.” You tell Sans in a salesperson's voice. By the look he gives you, you get the feeling he wants a less technical explanation.

“If you want a summer garden, i’d suggest roses and clematis. All three flowers tie in with love and romance, which, in my opinion, creates a warm atmosphere in a garden. They’re also pretty faithful, if you grow and care for them correctly. I’ve heard of bushes surviving for over a hundred years and still producing blossoms.” You tell him, and notice the corners of his smile turning up. So he really just wanted fun facts? Well, that’s something you excel at!

“If you’re interested in Greek history, it’s said Peonies were named after Paeon, a student of the greek god Asclepius. Apparently, he got a bit jealous of Paeon so Zeus turned Paeon into a flower to save him. There was definitely a peony problem in that logic.” You joke and Sans barks out a laugh at your pun.

“Oho, you like garden puns, eh? You better be-leaf I’ve got a glutenous amount of them. I’ve had a lot of thyme on my hands, y’know. But it’s not a big dill. I enjoy the peas and quiet.” You shoot off rapid-fire, not letting up to even let Sans catch his breath. By the end of your spiel, he’s curled up on the floor, gasping for air.

“ehe, you got me there. i’m gonna have to stem-up my game to ketchup to you. don’t want you thinking i’m a lillie liver, after all.”He jokes from his spot on the floor which garners a slight chuckle from you. After all of that, you go back to throwing little fun-facts about different flowers or herbs that he questions you about. Even though you barely know the guy, you feel comfortable around him and when he says he has to leave, your soul lurches forward, trying to follow him out the door.

You rub at your chest as you wave him off. Hopefully, you’ll get to meet him again. In the meantime, you have a greenhouse to care for. With the swiftness of a long-time employee, you water all of the plants that require it, turn over the soil for a few sickly looking herbs, clip infected stems and buds and manage to harvest most of the vegetables before your lunch break.

“Stacie, I’m going on my break. Make sure to harvest the rest of the vegetables before I come back.” You shout to your co-worker as you hang up your apron and dust off your hands.

You practically inhale your lunch that consists of a turkey sandwich, tangerine and apple juice and quickly find yourself with nothing to do. Instead of being productive and going back to work, you do the adult thing and take out your switch from your galaxy tote bag you always bring to work. Time for some animal crossing~ What sort of shenanigans are you going to get up to today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Just A Bit of A Stretch
> 
> Love you guys! Stay safe!


	9. Just A Bit of A Stretch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you do some homework and play some video games.

You throw yourself onto your couch once you get home and take out your laptop, typing furiously as you get to work. Even though you work at a university, their astronomy classes aren’t exactly what you are looking for. Instead, you decided to take an online class that meets up occasionally to star gaze but is otherwise independent. It’s an interesting class, but the distraction that is Animal Crossing has been overpowering your drive to complete your work lately.

Rather than hunkering down and shaking every tree on your island like you want to, you type away at your essay about how the ancient Greeks used stars to navigate during the night time, aiding them in their crusades.

Only a couple of hours later, Coco bursts into the house, grocery bags in hand and a nervous boyfriend at her side. You wave without looking up from your work, getting vocal greetings from your friends.

After they finish putting the groceries away, Coco hops into your lap with Cooper settling in beside you. “Whaddya want?” You mumble, barely looking up from your laptop to question your room mate.

“Dinner. It’s your turn.” She states simply. You hiss through your teeth at her words, knowing she’s right. Despite this, you still push her off of you and onto the floor in annoyance. She just giggles at your antics as you push yourself up and wipe your sweaty hands on your pants.

“Fine. How does soup sound?” You question, which gets an immediate upvote. Soup is easy because it doesn’t require constant supervision and you’re patient enough to deal with waiting until it’s done.

So, you take out a pot, set it on the stove to boil, then begin cleaning and cutting up your ingredients in a calm manner. The first ingredients to go into the boiling water are potatoes, followed quickly by carrots, celery, cabbage, beans then a can of diced tomatoes. You defrost the chicken while the vegetables are simmering, chopping it up once done then swiping the slightly slimy pieces into the water with everything else. It’s satisfying to watch the meat immediately turn from pink to white. You add in some lemon, chicken stock and pepper to give the meal some spice, then wash your hands to rid them of the slightly sticky texture.

You type for a while on your laptop, stopping every now and then to mix the soup or to check if it’s cooked yet. It doesn’t take long for the vegetables to soften and you’re quite pleased with your work, calling for your friends to serve themselves.

You devour your food at an inhuman speed, then turn back to your work, revising and fine-tuning it before hitting the send button. You know it’s not the best idea to wait for the reply, but you can’t help it as you refresh the page every few minutes.

Eventually, Coco closes your laptop and drags you away from the table, then throws you into the pillow fort she and Cooper had made while you were distracted. You burrow into the comfortable cushions beneath you and wait while they select a movie. About halfway through, you excuse yourself to use the bathroom. Upon your return, you have your switch in hand.

“Disgusting. You better have washed your hands!” Coco shouts at you, making your face turn red in embarrassment.

“Of course I washed my hands! I’m not an animal!” You shout right back, ducking down to pick up a pillow. You toss your switch to the couch in the process to keep it safe, then rush forward, swinging the pillow like a weapon. Coco narrowly dodges the attack and rolls across the pillow fort. When she comes back up, she’s holding a pillow in each hand and has a blanket strewn across her shoulders. She lets out a warrior’s cry then jumps at you, swinging her arms wildly. 

You yelp and jump out of the way only to get smacked by the pillow in her opposite hand. You scrawl across the floor dramatically, whimpering your defeat. She crawls over and offers you a hand, but a manic grin passes your features and you jump on her, smothering her with your pillow.

“Cooper! Operation mother hen commence!” Coco shouts when you let off your attack for a moment. You yelp in surprise when you’re suddenly tackled to the ground by a fluffy blur. When your senses return, you find that most of the pillows are covering you and that your friends have begun to pile blankets on top of your form.

“Pulled a sneaky on ya.” Cooper mumbles as you struggle under your soft restraints. You give him a little glare, but it fades away when he hands you your switch.

“Accept your fate and play animal crossing while we send you into the shadow realm.” Coco orders once you dig your hands out enough to firmly grasp the device. They proceed to completely cover your body with all of the blankets, pillows and stuffed animals in the house while you boot up your game.

It’s only a couple minutes after you begin playing that a notification pops up in the top left of your screen.

*Blueberry is Online!

After that, it takes a minute, but sure enough, you get a message from the sunshine child, inviting you over to his island. You don’t have much else to do so you agree before deciding on a new outfit to wear to his island.

You go with a pink top coat, blue cropped pants and the rest consisting of white mary janes, octagonal glasses and a mini pleather bag. You take a moment to admire how cute your character is before heading out of your house and to the airport.

It doesn’t take long to land on Blue’s island and you’re impressed with the walkway exiting from the airport. It’s a literal rainbow of flowers leading all the way to the town hall. The whole thing is gated off and separated, kind of how a pasture is done and you wonder if perhaps your blue friend planned the layout from the moment he saw the map. You find the loveable avatar of your friend and greet him with a wave, which he quickly returns.

The two of you wonder through his island, catching fish, watering flowers and occasionally you request to pick some of the rarer blooms. One time, the both of you are trying to catch the same large shadowed fish, but it ultimately goes for your rod. It’s to both of your surprise when you pull out a sturgeon fish, the large thing flapping around in your hands.

Soon after the shocking catch, Blue gets a visitor. You suspect it might be Clementine, but are proved wrong when a different name pops up on the screen. “Flightless floaty thing, Stretch arriving from Macrocosm”. That’s a mouthful… Though, you aren’t much better with “Stelliferous” being your island name.

“THAT’S MY BROTHER, STRETCH.” Blue types out and sends to you via a private message. You ask if you can meet him which he quickly agrees to and guides you towards the airport.

“BROTHER, THIS IS THE ISLANDER I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT, STELLA.” He introduces and you wave at the new person. He’s decked out in an orange sweater, brown cargo shorts and orange high tops. The color combination is familiar, but you can’t quite place it.

“it’s sweet to finally meet you, hun. hope you’ve been treating my bro right.” His character says. You’re not sure why, but you feel a little threatened by the droopy eyed avatar.

“Of course. He’s been the best host so I should try to be the best guest!” You tell him. His character stares at you for a while and you aren’t sure what to make of the action, but decide to ignore it. Instead, you turn to Blue and suggest you all go fishing.

So, almost half an hour later, the three of you are comparing your catches, when Stretch pulls out a huge fish you’ve never caught before. He doesn’t tell you it’s name, but that’s fine. You’re Determined to catch it for yourself one day.

You decide it’s about time to log off after that and tell your friends as much. Before you can leave, Stretch tells you that he wants to be friends and says he’ll steal your friend code from his brother. You’re fine with the arrangement and feel a little thrill shoot through you as you see the friend request pop up. You feel like you accomplished something amazing, though you aren’t sure why.

You fall asleep soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Red-y to Meet You
> 
> I love you guys! Stay safe!


	10. Red-y to Meet You!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you clean up an island and meet a new friend.
> 
> I was bored so I thought I'd throw an update out here. Don't worry, though! Our regularly scheduled Sunday update is still gonna happen!

“my island needs help” Is the simple phrase you get when you open up your game the next day. It’s so simple and odd that you aren’t sure how to respond at first. Like, you literally met this guy yesterday and he’s suddenly asking for help like he’s an old friend? It’s just kind of funny to you.

So, you decide to do the nice thing and hear out his plea for help. You’re in a good mood anyway, considering the clinic at work went smoothly. The only real problem you had was one of the younger visitors getting lost in the hedge maze in the back. Luckily, you know the maze like the back of your hand and were able to pull him out before too much time passed.

“What about your island?” You question, then wander around, gathering sticks you left the last time you shook your trees. It only takes a minute for the reply to come and it’s not one you’re expecting.

“too many weeds. can’t plant anything.” You cringe at the thought. How do you get so many weeds that you don’t have room to plant anything? Isn’t that, like, impossible?

“I’m coming over. Ur gates better be open.” You go to your house and empty your pockets, all except your ladder, fishing pole and net. You fully expect to be compensated with being able to catch as many bugs and fish as you want while there.

The plane touches down on Stretch’s island and you’re already appalled by the sights you’ve seen. He wasn’t joking about the sheer number of weeds on his island and it only gets worse the more you look around. Instead of thinking about it, you decide to just button mash until you’re satisfied.

It’s forty five minutes later when you’ve gotten rid of half of the island’s weeds. Checking your inventory, you find that it’s half full. “Bro, how are there so many weeds?” You question.

“my cousin came over and planted them.” He says simply and you can’t help but laugh at the mental image of Peony coming over and trolling your friend. But the picture doesn’t add up. Peony doesn’t seem like the type of guy to take the time to plant a bunch of weeds just for the fun of it.

“speaking of my cousin…” Stretch’s character says, then the ‘Islander Visiting’ screen pops up. It takes a moment, but the character information pops up. “Bait-Snatching Chum, Red arriving from Sanguine.” You wait for him to land before immediately heading towards the town hall where you drop off the weeds you’ve collected. Stretch does the joy emote before turning around and greeting his cousin.

“‘sup red.” He says but the other islander doesn’t respond other than walking around him and towards you.

“who’re you?” He questions when he’s right up in your avatar’s personal space. You back up a bit but he follows suit, not letting up for a moment. You decide it’s best to just introduce yourself then go about getting your bugs and fish with the time you have left.

“The name’s Stella. Nice to meet you.” You say, then walk away. Unfortunately, he follows right after you, always just a couple steps away. What was supposed to be a fun fishing trip turns into a sort-of war on who has better aim with their poles. Every fish you went for, there was another fishing rod right next to yours. Every bug you’d try to catch would be chased away by a running red menace. You would’ve been peeved if you weren’t so busy laughing your ass off.

It took a while before you fully filled up your inventory, but the whole time was spent having fun and laughing at the shenanigans going on. He even got a wasp nest going after you at one time. Luckily, there was an open building nearby so you didn’t get stung, but it was still an exciting experience.

Once you were satisfied with the amount of money you made, you decided it was time to log off and do homework. You told your friends as much and while Stretch happily let you go, Red was being tsundere about the whole thing and refusing to let you leave.

“Bro, let me across the bridge. Ur being a baby.” You tell him as he blocks the walkway to the airport. He stands defiantly, his grin wide and mocking. Your character lets out a huff, then you push forward, trying to get him out of your way. He just wouldn’t budge!

“only baby around here is you. you mad cuz you couldn’t get any critters today?” He questions and an idea suddenly pops into your mind. You pull up your inventory and look through it until you find what you're looking for, then show it off. It’s a hammerhead shark that you managed to catch when he wasn’t around and you’re quite proud of it.

“What was that about not catching anything?” You question as your character adopts a smug emote. Red simply pushes past you and lets you go through. You decide to have mercy on him and offer a truce. “Let’s be friends. Here’s my friend code.” You tell him, then send over the code. You aren’t sure if he’ll accept it or not, but it’d be great if he did. He’d definitely bring more excitement into your animal crossing experience!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Pa-Pie-Rus
> 
> I was thinking of making a tumblr? But I've never done something like that before, so I'm not sure. If you guys have any suggestions, let me know!


	11. Pa-Pie-Rus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you go to a bakery

Less than a week after meeting ‘Red’ in animal crossing, you get a text from Muffet, letting you know that she’s going to be opening her second location. You’re ecstatic for your spider friend and head out immediately, practically skipping the whole way.

Once there, you notice the large crowd consisting of monsters and humans, each trying to get as close to the front as possible. You circle the crowd cautiously, trying to find the best angle to join it from. Eventually, you manage to get close enough to the front to see your friend, just as she cuts a ribbon with a large pair of scissors. The crowd erupts into cheers before racing inside, each desperate to get food and drinks before they’re sold out.

You end up around the middle of the line, behind a blonde human and in front of a familiar looking skeleton. For a while, you are content to stand and wait, but your curiosity gets the better of you and you turn around to greet the grinning skeleton.

“Um, hey. My name’s Y/n. Sorry if this is weird, but do I know you from somewhere?” You question the monster behind you. He perks up at your words, before his smile is replaced with a confused grimance. Well, that can’t be good.

“I CAN’T SAY THAT I HAVE MET YOU, HUMAN. IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME…” He says, a little stiffly. You aren’t sure why his disregard for you hurts so much, but it does and you turn away before you can get too emotional about it. The line moves up and you move right along with it.

It doesn’t take long before you’re able to order, though you notice that there are only a couple sweets left in the displays and your friend is looking exhausted. It must be really hard to man a shop on it’s opening day all by yourself.

“Hi, Muffet! Looks like you’re having an exciting day.” You small talk with the frazzled monster, who brightens up at your voice.

“Oh, dearie~ You have no idea.” She purrs as she straightens out her clothes and brushes her hair back.  
“Sorry to hear that. Could I have a Clementine Cream puff, Star Sugar Donut, and a cup of Arachnid Tea?” You question the monster delicately, waiting patiently as she picks up the sweets and brews the tea. It’s only a couple minutes later that she comes back and hands you your order, waving you off with a grin.

Before you can get too far, you hear the loud voice of the skeleton monster who was standing behind you. It sounds like he’s disappointed. Something about his favorite dessert not being ready… You look down at the cream puff in your hand and wonder if he’d like it.

Before you can think too much about it, you hang back a bit to wait for him to order his food, before approaching him, hand outstretched. The skeleton looks at you, confused, before his eye sockets light up with excitement when they land on the sweet in your hand.

“ARE YOU OFFERING THAT SWEET TO ME, HUMAN? HOW VERY KIND OF YOU!” He says, his mood raising and his grimance from earlier gone. You wonder for a moment why he didn’t seem happy to see you at first. It doesn’t make sense, unless you reminded him of somebody he doesn’t like?

“Yeah. You seemed kinda sad you couldn’t get the pastry you wanted.” You mumble, your hand still outstretched, waiting for him to pluck the sweet out of your hand. After a moment, in which you guess he is observing you, he takes the sweet, then pats the top of your head.

“I DON’T THINK I WAS VERY NICE TO YOU WHEN WE FIRST MET. LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU.” He says as he extends his arm, waiting for you to get a bit closer. You move forward and follow him to a window seat, where the two of you settle down and discuss a few things.

You find out that he’s the monster mascot, which is probably why you recognized him earlier. He's here as a bit of security detail and to oversee that things run smoothly, which you find interesting. Human stores don’t usually have security during grand openings, but it makes sense when you take a moment to think about it. Monsters still get attacked by dumb humans, especially by humans who feel threatened by losing their jobs. It sucks, but it’s an unfortunate truth.

You tell him a bit about yourself, your job at the university, your interest in astronomy and how you came to be a huge supporter in Muffet’s food. He seems most interested in your job, asking how you came to find it and if you’ve met other staff at the school. You have a bit of a suspicion that he may know Sans, but don’t voice your theory, instead opting to say that you aren’t really close with anyone other than your co-workers.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Papyrus. I hope to see you again sometime.” You tell your new friend as you stuff your trash into your bag and stand up. He follows your movements and guides you to the door. Unfortunately, he has to stay at Muffet’s until it closes, otherwise he would’ve offered to walk you home. He stays in the doorway and waves you off until you disappear over the horizon.

It isn’t long after you get off of work that your phone starts ringing. “Y/n~ Need you to… Um… Pick-up.” Coco mumbles over the line. You sigh, knowing deep in your soul that this is going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Maroon Eyes
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Any suggestions are welcome.


	12. Maroon Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you pick up your drunk friend

The sun is just barely settling behind Mount Ebott as you approach Grillby’s. Coco’s never been too experimental when it comes to monster cuisine, but she absolutely adores the drinks that they have. As such, she’s a regular at the warm establishment and hardly ever drinks anywhere else.

Still, you find it kind of odd that she’s drinking so early in the day. Maybe she got in a fight with Cooper... 

You enter the bar, escaping the slight chill of the evening air. Your eyes scan the establishment before they land on a head of familiar brown hair knocked out on the bar counter. You weave through the crowd, greeting a few of the regulars, before settling into a bar stool next to your best friend. “ Coco. Wake up. We gotta go home.” You mumble close to her ear. From experience, you know not to shake her awake. She has a habit of biting people’s hands.

“Mn… Y/n. What’re you doin’ here?” She questions, her bleary eyes landing on your form. You tell her that she called you earlier and explain that you’ll pay her tab before the two of you head out.

“Grillby, can I get Coco’s tab?” You question the bartender. He crackles lightly and turns away, assumedly to grab the tab. You help Coco up and lean her against your shoulder. She sways a bit but luckily doesn’t vomit. When Grillby returns with the tab, she lurches forward and you barely catch her before she slams her head on the counter.

“ I’m… goin’ to the bathroom!” She suddenly exclaims, then hops out of her chair and bolts away. You sigh at your friend's antics before looking over her bill. Looks like she had a couple beers at first, then began to get desperate and started piling monster drinks onto her order.

“Thanks for handling her, Grillby. Do you know why she was so bent out of shape?” You question the fire elemental, who crackles lightly before pointing to her phone. You pick it up and look through her last texts, finding that she was sending desperate texts to Cooper, how she’s so sorry she couldn’t recognize him. Today was his birthday, so that must’ve hurt. Imagine not being recognized by someone who you care about. Must suck.

While you’re looking at the texts, you don’t notice the person who slides into Coco’s seat with the ease of someone who’s done it a million times before. You do notice, however, when an arm slides around your shoulders. An arm that is most certainly made of bones.

Slowly, you turn your whole body forty-five degrees, only to see the smirking face of a skeleton dressed in rich maroons and bright yellows. While making eye-contact, you reach up and slide his arm off of your body before practically tossing it back to him.

“hey now, sweetheart. that’s just rude.” He rumbles, his deep voice practically reverberating through your body. You stifle your shiver before throwing a glare his way, though it lacks any serious heat.

“So is touching somebody without permission.” You quip back. His eyes dilate for a moment, before his grin comes back full-force, eyes lidding in what you can only describe as a predatory manner. You look at him closer, something in your chest churning and tugging. You aren’t sure why, but you feel like you know him. Maybe you’ve run into him before? It’s hard to tell.

Before you can voice your thoughts, you turn away, not wanting to embarrass yourself. The skeleton beside you doesn’t seem to have the same nervous energy that you have and instead scoots closer, trying to make idle conversation while he sips on his glowing drink.

“what’s a nice person like you doin’ in a dirty mind like mine?” He drawls, and even though you’re sure you’ve heard the line before, it feels different coming from him. So, of course, you have to respond.

“Fitting right in.” You say, leaning in to where you suspect his ear canal should be. When you pull away, you find a pleasant maroon blush dusted over his cheekbones and his eyes flicker a bit, as if they are about to change to a different shape. Before anything else can happen, Coco comes trouncing up to your side and throws her entire weight over your shoulder.

“C’mon, babe. Let’s go!” She shouts in your ear before sending a little glare the skeleton’s way. He backs up a respectable distance, but keeps his eyelights trained on you as you carry your friend out the door.

“Y/n~ Don’t trust that guy. ‘ve seen him around. He’s bad news” Coco tells you once you’re outside the bar. Rather than respond, a strange thought comes to your mind. He… He acts a lot like Red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Give You An Edge
> 
> So, I made a tumblr. There's practically nothing on there as of right now, and I'm not sure how to link it here, but I'm gonna try my best. Tell me if this works, yeah?
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)
> 
> Another thing: the next chapter for 'Meeting Your Soulmate In Real Life' will probably be coming out next week. Sorry if y'all were hoping for it this week.


	13. Giving You An Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you take a day off and go drinking

You spend the days up until your day off playing animal crossing and working. It’s a vicious yet very fun cycle and you start to notice a slight pattern. In the mornings, you go to Muffet’s to pick up your daily tea and donut. While there, you sometimes run into Papyrus, who chatters about his day and what his cousins have been doing. He walks you all the way to the university before taking off on his mid-morning run. When you get to the greenhouse, Sans is usually there to greet you. He spends about fifteen minutes making small talk and the two of you have taken to the occasional pun war.

During your lunch break, you eat then play animal crossing, usually just going around your island to pick up loose items and talk to your villagers. After work, you go home and work on homework then settle into bed to visit one of your animal crossing friends before finally falling into a comfortable sleep.

Now that you have a day off, you aren’t quite sure what to do. You’ve already gone to Muffet’s for your morning fix and have more or less cleaned the whole house. Not that it wasn't already clean. Coco’s too good at keeping the house tidy.

So, you decide to settle in for an old movie marathon. You pull out your grandma’s CD holder and flip through a few pages until you find one that you want to watch. It takes less than a minute for it to load and begin playing.

Four hours of humming along to old timey jazz songs and occasionally getting up to ravage the pantry later, you decide that you aren’t actually going to have an old movie marathon. Instead, you find that your switch is singing and you are but a humble servant to its siren call.

There’s nobody online when you log on, but that’s fine since Flik is visiting your island so you spend nearly two hours just collecting bugs and selling them to the edgy chameleon.

All of a sudden, the jarring sound of someone knocking on your door sends you tumbling to the ground. You scramble to your feet before vaulting to the peephole and taking a look at who could possibly be interrupting your day off. It’s Richie.

“Cous, I know you’re there. Can you let me in?” He calls out and you debate between opening the door or not. Eventually, you find you have no real reason not to and slide the door open.

“Hi Richie. Nice to see you. On my day off. That is usually reserved for napping and watching movies.” You snip at your cousin, who in turn gives you an unimpressed look before pushing into your house. He flops down on your couch before pulling out a piece of paper with familiar loopy handwriting on it.

“I was taking my break at Grillby’s today when he gave this to me. Said to give it to you.” Richie enunciates with the vocabulary of a toddler. You settle down beside him on the couch and pull the paper up, inspecting it.

“Ooh, humans get half-off monster drinks today. You know what that means~.” You flop over your cousins legs and give him a smug grin before finishing your thought, “Time to get absolutely wasted!”

“Don’t you have work tomorrow? Are you sure that’s the best idea?” He questions, but you tut at him like he’s some ignorant child. Mostly because he is an ignorant child.

“Ye of little knowledge. Monster food and thereby monster drinks are made of magic. Therefore their healing properties. Sure, you can get buzzed to blackout drunk by drinking them, but hangovers? Never had ‘em.” You educate the petulant child glaring down at you. Instead of responding, he pushes you onto the floor where you proceed to roll over before he can kick you.

You spring up from the floor in record time and bolt for the hallway, screaming bloody murder all the while. Richie manages to tackle you to the ground and mercilessly tickle you until you’re completely out of breath and practically a puddle on the floor.

“I will have my revenge! You won’t know where, you won’t know when! But trust me when I say that you shall not come away from this night unscathed.” You warn when he gets off of you and walks away. He sends a menacing glare your way, which makes you whimper, before a smirk crosses his face and he bends down beside you to whisper his own lovely little threat.

“Sure thing cous. Just know, until that time comes, i’m gonna mess with you like there’s no tomorrow.”

You’ve heard this threat before. He’s made good on it every time for as long as the two of you have known eachother. So, with great reluctance, you raise into a standing position and begin walking to your room, only to be tripped almost immediately.

Richie bellows out a laugh at your expense, then walks into the kitchen, most likely to be a total slob and raid your cabinets. You take it as a win that he isn’t breathing down your neck as you hop into your room to pick out an outfit that’s Grillby’s appropriate (AKA, not your pajamas). You settle for a flowing black blouse with glittery threads sewn into it and a pair of high waisted jeans. 

Richie wolf whistles you when you walk out of your room, and the look on his face is all too familiar, especially in recent years.

“Please tell me you’re not gonna take a page from ‘The Alabama Man’ book again.” You beg your cousin, but all he does is wink. Disgusting.

“I'm gonna tell Kaiya.” You threaten, but he just shrugs it off. Not like she hasn’t heard worse from him.

After your little interaction, the two of you head out of your apartment building and Richie offers to drive the two of you to Grillby’s bar. It smells like a wet dog in his car, but that’s to be expected. He does work at an animal shelter.

Richie wraps his arm over your shoulder and leads you into the building, leaving no room for escape. Not that you want to. You fully expect to get black-out drunk tonight and wake up on your living room floor tomorrow.

“Hey Grillbz. Can I get that one drink that looks like the night sky?” You ask the fire elemental as you settle into a bar stool. He crackles happily before turning to his brews and pulling out a drink mixer. 

Soon after ordering, Grillby returns with your drink in hand as well as one that your cousin seems to always start with. It flashes through the different colors of the rainbow, setting a nice ‘rave’ mood. It’s the only magical drink you’ve ever seen him order. You’re Determined to change that tonight.

“Don’t be a baby for one night and order off-menu. C’mon, I’ll even pay half your tab.” You tell your cousin, who scrunches up his nose at you.

“You’re just trying to get me drunk so I won’t anticipate your little attack. Joke’s on you, I can hold my liquor!” He tells you as he slams down his drink. He then proceeds to order the cocktail you have in front of you as well as multiple fireballs.

So, turns out, Richie can not hold his liquor. He’s absolutely plastered, knocked out on the top of the bar. You’d rub him on the back consolingly, but you have revenge to enact. Plucking his phone from his pocket, you concoct the perfect text and send it off to Kaiya, then sip on your drink while you await her reply.

“you seem to like snatching people’s phone’s, sweetheart.” A smooth voice drawls from beside you.

“And you seem to like sneaking up on people.” You quip back to the wide skeleton who’s taken the seat beside you. He chuckles at your quick reply, then raises his hand to catch Grillby’s attention.

“so, who’s this sad sack? another of your friends?” The skeleton questions, eyeing your cousin with a critical gaze. Before you can reply, Richie sits bolt upright and drapes himself over your shoulders, giving the monster his best stink eye.

“Kaiya’s my girlfriend, so lay off…” He mumbles. The skeleton’s eyelights bloat at his words and he looks at you as if waiting for you to reply.

“Like she’d ever date you, you sad sack of dog poo. Get over yourself.” You tell your cousin. He pouts at your words and goes to argue, but a heated glare from you is all it takes to get him to shut up.

“Why are all of my friends such lightweights…” You sigh as Richie goes back to nursing his drink. The skeleton beside you seems to snap out of a daze and a wide grin comes over his features.

“know who isn’t a lightweight? me.” He tells you as Grillby comes over with a few drinks, each magical in some way.

Turns out the skeleton is indeed a lightweight, as, six drinks in, he’s passed out beside Richie. You deadpan at the two and order your eighth drink of the night, but decide that that’s about all that you’re gonna be able to handle and still be able to drive home.

“Hey, skeledude. Let me get you a ride home.” You tell the skeleton passed out beside you. He mumbles under his breath before pulling out his phone and passing it to you. “What do you expect me to do with this?”

“text boss… should be up.” He slurs out and you give him a quizzical look. It’s not like you know his phone’s password. However, you try the first number that comes to mind and the phone instantly unlocks. Weird.

You decide to forego the snooping that your mind screams at you to do and instead enter his message app. Surprisingly, the first contact that shows up is titled ‘boss’ with a black convertible as the contact picture. You open up the chat and are bombarded with texts, all from this ‘Boss’ guy.

You cringe a bit at the increasingly threatening texts and decide to ignore the clearly… strange relationship the two of them have. Instead, you type out a quick text saying that you’re this guy’s friend and he’s passed out at Grillby’s.

While you’re distracted with the skeleton’s phone, you don’t notice someone sliding Richie out of his chair and into the one next to it. You do notice, however, when the thick smell of rum permeates into your nostrils, making you choke on your air. Who the heck orders rum at a monster bar?

“Hey, baby. You seem pretty lonely. Wanna ditch these losers and have some real fun?” The person now sitting next to you asks. You scrunch up your nose in disgust and immediately turn away from him. Nobody seems to acknowledge the clearly drunk bastard trying to get in your personal space and you’re about to call Grillby over when the bar’s doors slam open.

A tall, imposing figure waltzes straight into the room, foregoing all of the monsters in their way with an air of superiority in their gait. You watch, absolutely shell-shocked, as the large figure finally walks into the light to reveal their face. It’s another skeleton, but you can’t make out their features at all. It’s like when someone doesn’t want their face on the TV so it’s covered with a static buble. You wonder if it’s something monsters can do since you’re sure it’s happened to you before.

You aren’t sure why, but you’re kind of uncomfortable with their presence. It’s not even that they’re intimidating, you just don’t want to hang around too much longer. Unfortunately, the monster doesn’t seem to share your sentiments and walks straight up to you. He leans down as if to inspect you, but draws back immediately, as if surprised by your very existence.

“HUMAN. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO CONTACTED ME, YES?” He questions in a tone similar to Papyrus’s, just a bit more scratchy and deep. You nod your head dumbly at his question, not sure how else to respond. He scoffs at your reply- or lack of- before he turns to the skeleton sleeping next to you and picks him up with a single arm.

Just as he’s about to turn away, your hands fly out to catch his free hand, a slightly pleading look taking over your features. “W-wait! Um… I know you don’t know me, but this guy’s bothering me. Could you…?” You aren’t sure what exactly you’re asking of him, but he seems to understand and turns to the drunk guy who’s still leaning into your personal space.

“YOU THERE, SCUM. LEAVE THIS LADY ALONE UNLESS YOU WANT SOMETHING OTHER THAN CHEAP ALCOHOL GOING DOWN YOUR THROAT.” He tells the guy in quite possibly the most threatening manner you’ve ever heard. A shiver goes down your spine and you’re not even on the receiving end of the threat. The guy stumbles a bit before falling out of his seat, hitting the ground hard. He lets out some expletives before looking up, as if to challenge the large skeleton, but stops at the threatening aura dripping from him.

“Yeah, whatever. Wasn’t worth the effort anyway…” He mumbles, then crawls himself back into a standing position. You watch as he stumbles away, then turn back to thank your saviour.

“Um, thanks for that. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask! I really owe you one.” You tell the skeleton, who scoffs at your praise, but an idea seems to come to him and you swear he’s smirking under his static bubble.

“JUST ONE THING, HUMAN. YOUR NUMBER.” He tells you, then holds out his hand expectantly. You aren’t sure if it’s the best idea to hand your phone over to a complete stranger, but you did say ‘anything’. You decide that going back on your word isn’t worth it and hand over your phone, which he types away at before nodding and handing it back.

Instead of looking at the new contact, you pocket your phone and give another thankful smile to the skeleton before he turns away and marches out of the bar. Your mood is, admittedly, soured by your experience with that weirdo and you figure it’s about time to head home. You quickly pay Grillby for the drinks, then throw Richie over your shoulders and head out. The world is fuzzy and a little bit tinted as you drive back, but you manage to avoid breaking any major traffic laws and park Richie’s car in its usual spot. The two of you wave good-bye and you immediately knock out once your head hits the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't drive drunk kiddos~
> 
> Next Chapter: Breakfast Buds
> 
> I have a [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) now!
> 
> I posted this chapter a bit early because I kind of need some good news? Like, I've been feeling kind of lonely lately and whenever I see notifications in my inbox, my whole day just lights up! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! There will be our regularly scheduled chapter update at the end of the week! Ta ta~


	14. Breakfast Buds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you get some breakfast at Muffet's.

“I need help.” Are the words that you wake up to the next day. You groan a bit and rub the sleep from your eyes, trying to make out just who would have the gall to ask for help at five in the stars damned morning.

“Coco, what the heck? The sun isn’t even up yet.” You mumble when you finally catch sight of your best friend’s chocolatey brown hair. She doesn’t respond to your comment and waits until you raise into a sitting position before getting into her reason for waking you up so early.

“I want to make things up with Cooper and I need your expertise! I’ve already made the cake, you just need to put the final decorations on it.” She tells you. What is she going on about? Then you remember. Her desperate texts to Cooper, begging him to forgive her for not recognizing him. You thought it was just her being a crazy drunk, but apparently not.

“Alright… What do you want me to do?” You ask her, and her eyes light up at your compliance. It’s still way too early for you to be up, but your best friend needs your help and who are you to deny?

“I want you to put the Cancer constellation on the cake. It’s his favorite, but my hands are really shaky and I don’t trust myself with the icing bag.” She tells you simply. It’s not too hard of a request. You could probably do it with your eyes closed. But the pleading look in her eyes forces you awake just the slightest bit more and you throw your covers off.

You practically run through your morning routine and meet up with Coco in the kitchen where it smells like mildew and sea foam. You aren’t sure why, but the smell is comforting and makes you want to snuggle up in a blanket.

“Oh, it’s the cake you made for Cooper last year… Looks good.” You compliment your friend, who brightens at your words. She hands you the piping bag and you trace out the Cancer constellation on a paper sheet before mimicking the design on the light blue cake laid out in front of you. From experience, you know that the cake tastes like blueberries and ocean water, which isn’t the tastiest combination for humans, but Cooper could eat the cake for days without wanting anything else.

“He actually texted me yesterday. He said he wanted to apologize for overreacting and explain what was going on. I’m not sure why, but I feel like this is a lot more than just a misunderstanding. It feels… Bigger than that.” She tells you and you completely understand her line of thoughts. Cooper is a generally understanding monster. He’s patient and will usually wait for an explanation before jumping the gun. For him to just suddenly shut his girlfriend out for something as small as her not recognizing him… It’s inconceivable.

“I hope that there’s a good explanation. If he starts spouting nonsense, I’ll be over in a jiffy and we can eat ice cream until he comes back to his senses.” You tell your best friend with a wink. She wraps you in a tight embrace, then slips away, cake in hand.

You spend a while just cleaning up the kitchen, putting the dishes in the washer, wiping down the table and snacking on the extra icing. It’s really good and you suddenly have a craving for Muffet’s cake when you finish it.

Deciding to give into your cravings, you throw on your boots and sling your work bag over your shoulder, figuring it won’t hurt to get to work early for once. You arrive at Muffet’s in record time and order a slice of cake, then settle into a window seat to people watch.

The foot traffic is slow, probably because of the early hour, so it’s to your complete surprise when two skeletons enter Muffet’s bakery, one of them shouting loudly and the other trailing behind a bit, nodding happily at his companion. 

“oh, hey, it’s the silk cream girl.” A deep voice rumbles and you realize it’s coming from the taller skeleton. He’s facing you, a pleasant smile on his features. You find it odd that he’s so familiar with you if this is the first time the two of you have met.

“Hm? I don’t think I know you. Have we met before?” You ask the skeleton who’s expression darkens at your words. Did you say something weird? This is the first time you’ve met this monster, right?

“suppose you wouldn’t recognize me, not with how you were acting last time… um… we met at muffet’s other shop a few weeks ago. you ran away before i could introduce myself.” He tells you, sounding as if he’s trying to scope out the situation. Something about his words sounds familiar. You do remember escaping Muffet’s shop a couple weeks ago because you felt uncomfortable about meeting someone... 

“I think I remember now. Sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.” You tell the skeleton, who looks a bit more relieved at your words. Or maybe he’s just happy you aren’t running away? Before you can question anything, the small skeleton at his side makes a strange, slightly strangled sound and you realize he’s staring at your face like he’s trying to figure out the world's most perplexing puzzle. Cute.

“Do I have something on my face? I was helping my friend pipe some decorations onto her cake earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got some cream on my outfit or elsewhere.” You joke a bit, trying to get the small skeleton to lighten up his glaring. He seems to snap out of whatever daze he was in and smiles brightly, his eyelights going from foggy, lumpy circles to bright blue stars. That’s new.

“NO, YOU ARE PERFECT.” He blurts out, then seems to realize what he said and corrects himself “I- I MEAN! UM! YOU’RE PERFECTLY CLEAN! NO CREAM ANYWHERE!” He shouts, a light blue overtaking his cheekbones. You let out a little giggle at his words, but you can feel your own blush creeping onto your cheeks.

“Ah, thanks. Can’t be going to work looking like a mess. Um… Do you guys want anything? Muffet’s giving you that look.” You tell the skeletons who are still staring at you like you’re some sort of precious flower. It’s flattering, but you should probably be leaving soon.

“yea, my bro and i are just here for some breakfast. Otherwise, he might have an eggsistential crisis.” Hoodie says, one of his sockets closing to form a wink. It’s an action Sans has performed many times, but it’s different coming from this skeleton. Maybe because he has smaller sockets?

“PAPY! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS.” Smol shouts at his brother. You figure now is as good a time as any to get their names since the names you’re forming in your mind for them are getting more and more outlandish.

“So, what are your names?” You question, which shocks them out of their bickering. Smol straightens up and places a hand on his chest, his bandanna flapping in the wind that suddenly blows from your right.

“I AM THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY! BUT YOU CAN CALL ME BLUE.” He tells you, cyan dusting his cheekbones which you’ve learned to associate with a blush. He then gestures to Hoodie and introduces him as Stretch. The tall skeleton is sleeping on his feet.

“It was nice meeting both of you. Maybe we’ll meet again soon. See you later.” You tell the skeleton monsters, who wave you off. Although the meeting was fairly short, you feel a strong connection with the two skeletons and can’t wait for your next encounter with them.

~~~

“heya flower.” Sans says when you approach the greenhouse. You wave at your friend and go about setting up shop for the day, allowing the skeleton to roam the rows of flowers and plants until you’re done gathering your materials.

The two of you walk through the many lined up plants, occasionally stopping to water a flower or clip dead stalks from sickly looking plants. Sans follows you like a lost puppy the entire time, occasionally helping out when your hands get full. Even though he seems like a lazy guy, he’s actually pretty helpful when it comes to your needs.

“any plans for the weekend? the monsters are holding a surfacing celebration.” He mentions out of the blue when you enter the butterfly garden. You’re a little surprised at the inquiry and wonder if he’s about to ask you out. Even if he is...

“Unfortunately, I have something going on through the weekend. Just some family business. Sorry.” You tell your friend, who looks a little put-out by your words, but seems to notice your mood and becomes worried.

“it’s fine. but, uh, if you’re in trouble, you can always tell me.” He offers, but you wave your hands dismissively.

“It’s nothing like that. It’s just… My grandparents went missing two years ago. I’ve been going up to their old property lines to pay my respects to them for a while now, and this weekend is my scheduled trip.” You explain, but don’t want to go into any more depth on the matter. Sans seems to understand and doesn’t push you, but he seems too interested to just drop it. You’re proven right a few minutes later when he speaks up again.

“you don’t talk about your family too much. do you have any siblings?” He questions, catching you entirely off-guard.

“Um… No. I have a cousin, though. He’s a pretty cool dude but he can be a real pain in the ass at times. Like, just yesterday, he took me to Grillby’s and just straight up passed out on me! Four drinks in, he was dead.” You tell Sans, a slight chuckle coming out at the end. Sans also laughs at your predicament, so you decide to continue with your story.

“Then, not even two minutes later, this guy comes up and he’s like ‘know who’s not a lightweight? Me.’ and, six drinks later, he’s out cold, too! Guys these days just can’t seem to hold their liquor.” You rant to your friend, but notice light blue beads of sweat pooling on his brow.

“you… matched them? drink for drink?” He questions, sockets wide and eyelights shrunken. You nod cautiously, not liking the look he’s giving you. Kinda like you’re a monster. “wow. just… wow. only person i know who can drink that much is my bro.” He tells you, tilting his head as if deep in thought. You’re excited at his words, mostly because of the prospect of a new drinking partner! But he doesn’t usually elaborate on his home life, so you don’t have the highest hopes.

“Really? Maybe we could go out drinking sometime.” You tell him, hoping he’ll rise to the bait. You’re all too pleased when he does.

“sounds like a good idea to me. i’ll tell him about it.” Sans tells you, his smile upturning just the slightest bit at the corners. After that exchange, you get back to work and Sans has to get to his class soon after. Your chest aches just the slightest bit as you watch him leave. You’ve noticed it’s been doing that a lot lately and wonder if you should go to the doctor. Eh, maybe later. For now, you have some flowers to take care of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Attack On Two Fronts
> 
> I have a [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) now! If you guys have any questions or suggestion, feel free to hit me up there.


	15. Attack On Two Fronts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I which you have a prank war

After work, you plop down on your couch and get ready for a night of animal crossing. You haven’t been on as often and your island is starting to build up with random items. It doesn’t take long to clean up all of the weeds, twigs, wood and fruits from the ground and you’re quite proud of your work by the end of it.

Your next order of business is to re-plant some of your flowers. Most of them are just strewn about randomly and it’s messing with the aesthetic you have going on. So, after about an hour of tedious flower placement, you feel satisfied with your work and get ready to start having some actual fun. That is, until Red logs on and sends an invite to visit his island.

You, of course, oblige. It’s of no surprise when you touch down on his island to find it in total disarray. Weeds are everywhere, flowers laid out in totally random locations, twigs and wood left beside their respective trees. It’s nightmare inducing, walking around his island. But not as nightmare inducing as seeing the usually lazily dressed islander in a sharp tux, scar face paint, combed back hair and dress shoes.

“Red?” You question, not entirely believing what you’re seeing. There’s no way that’s Red! He’s too lazy to completely change his style! Then again, this is the guy who covered Stretch’s island in weeds as some sort of elaborate prank.

“NO. YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS EDGE.” Is the simple reply you get. Oh, so this must be Red’s… Brother? Friend? Whoever he is, you’re happy this isn’t Red because you were about to go into cardiac arrest from the shock.

“Oh. Nice to meet you, Edge. You can call me Stella.” You introduce, using your online persona’s name.

“I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. YOUR NAME WAS ON THE SCREEN FOR AN ANNOYINGLY LONG TIME, AFTER ALL.” He says and you get the feeling he’s blaming you for that. It’s not your fault the game takes all of ten minutes to transfer you onto a different game.

“Sorry about that. But I don’t make the rules.” You defend, then do the shrug emote. Edge lets out a defeated sigh, then turns around, stomping his way to… Wherever he’s going. You decide to find your host and see what he’s up to. Maybe pick up a few weeds on the way…

It doesn’t take long to find Red. He’s just hanging around the beach, picking up seashells. It’s an endearing sight coming from the same guy who chased you around Stretch’s island, scaring away fish and insects at each chance he got.

The two of you decide to just mess around; digging random holes to try and prank the other, see who can make the worst outfit with what the Able sisters have in their store and chasing away the other’s catch. It’s all fun and games! That is, until Edge falls into one of your pitfalls.

Suffice to say, life is Hell after that. You don’t expect the more active of the brothers to be so devious, but you really should’ve seen it coming. His plots are meticulous and hard to map out and each time you turn around, there’s another trap laid out for you to walk into. It honestly kinda feels like Red might be helping him out a bit, too, if the few times he flashes in the corner of your screen are anything to go by.

Of course, you aren’t one to go down without a fight, so you rally and begin planning your pay back. It takes a while to get the brothers off of your back, but once they’re gone, you begin laying out your trap. Thanks to Red’s deplorably messy island, you are able to seamlessly conceal three of your pitfall seeds. Half of the rest you bury around Red’s house, leaving only one spot open for you to slip through.

Feigning innocence, you call out to the brothers, saying you want to surrender. Sure enough, they fall for your lie and come right up to you. Red, true to his character, gets right into your personal space. And immediately falls into a pitfall. Edge tries to back up but falls into his own trap. Their struggling is a sight to behold, but you need to hurry to the second part of your plan.

You run on over to Red’s house and wait until they catch up to you before going inside. As you suspected, Edge follows right after you. Luckily, your game seems to have a better connection than his and you are able to escape the house before he can catch you.

Thoroughly trapped by terrible loading times, Edge has to wait almost a full minute to come out of the house. That gives you just enough time to bury the other half of your pitfall seeds. You feel a little victorious when you watch Edge walk out of the house to watch you burying the last seed in its hole.  
“IT APPEARS YOU HAVE BESTED ME THIS TIME, PERSON OF INDETERMINATE SPECIES. BUT…” You’re a little amused by his words, but the slightly threatening tone of his last word makes you stand on edge. But what? Just as you’re about to ask, Red pops up behind you.

“can you best me?” He questions. You’re absolutely flabbergasted as he leads you to the airport, which has upwards of twenty x-marks on the ground, each promising retribution for your crimes.

“You’re a monster!” You exclaim, not really weighing your words before typing them out. Red just puts on a smug emote before laughing at your plight. How are you supposed to get back to your island now?

“YOU SEE, STELLA, I KNEW WHAT YOU WERE PLANNING FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. SO, I FORMULATED THIS PLAN, EXPRESSLY FOR YOU TO FALL FOR. AND FALL YOU DID!” Edge says, then pushes your character right onto one of the buried items. Nothing happens. 

“WHAT???” He questions, then pushes you away from your spot to step onto it. Unfortunately for him, he steps onto the X next to your spot. And immediately falls into a pit.

Both you and Red bust out laughing at the sight of Edge’s character flailing about in his hole. When he finally manages to escape it, he’s fuming. After he finishes his emote, nothing happens and you get the feeling the two are arguing on the other side of the screen. Not one to be a rude guest, you stand right where you are, waiting for them to finish their conversation. It’s a couple minutes later when both of them shift a little to let you know they’re back on.

“That was fun and all, but I gotta get going. I have some homework to finish up.” You tell them. They’re both completely silent while you turn around, which is eerie. But then the unthinkable happens. Red steps forward… And falls right into his own trap. What?? Just happened???

When he escapes that trap, he walks forward again and falls right into another one. Now you’re really confused. What is he doing? “Red??” You question your friend, who doesn’t reply other than to fall into yet another trap. What the heck is going on?  
After Red successfully trips on every single pitfall, he stands stock still for a moment before finally speaking up. “have a good trip home. see you next fall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Family
> 
> Things we missed in this chapter: Edge getting in an argument with Red and forcing him to fall into his own pitfall traps.
> 
> I'll be staying with my sister for a week after this update, so I can't promise a regularly scheduled chapter. Even so, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> If you have any suggestions of if you just wanna talk, you can check out my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)!
> 
> Until next time~


	16. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you find out what's been going on between Coco and Cooper

After the little interaction with Red and Edge you work on your homework. It’s just a simple mapping of the southern hemisphere and you’re able to finish it in record time. Record time being just before Coco can come back from work.

“Y/n, you’re not gonna believe this!” She shouts as she enters the house. She kicks off her shoes, sending them flying into the kitchen before leaping onto the couch, successfully trapping you under her entire body’s weight.

“If you mean I’m not gonna believe you gained a couple pounds, you’re wrong. I can feel it. Right here.” You tell her as you poke at her stomach. She giggles at your prodding and swats your hands away, then suddenly gets serious.

“That’s not what I was talking about, though it is a concern. I should probably cut back on the cake. But! That’s not what I’m trying to talk about!” You give her a look as if to say ‘Go on, spill the beans.’ Coco, being your best friend, does just that.

“Cooper and I are soulmates!” She squeals, her voice rising several decibels. You take a moment to process her words before cautiously nodding your head. She’s talking about boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Not, like, red string of fate soulmates. Right?

“He told me about it when I brought him his cake. Apparently, soulmates are eligible to meet eachother when they turn twenty one. However, they can’t see eachother clearly until they do something specific. It varies from person to person, but he said it could be as simple as shaking the other person’s hand.” She rambles, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

You know your friend. She’s a skeptic, very logical. You’ve never heard her say anything about soulmates in her entire life. If she’s suddenly raving about them, one of two things happened. Cooper had a really impressive argument, or, stars forbid, Coco got herself some drugs. Seeing as though she’s completely cognitive, you decide the first option is more likely.

“Okay. So, what you’re saying is, soulmates exist. Cooper said so and there’s some sort of theory behind the whole thing. But you aren’t one to believe stuff without proof. So. What happened?” Coco goes quiet at your words, a noticeable blush crossing her usually pale cheeks. They better not have done anything indecent. You’re not about to sit through a retelling of their steamy escapades.

“It’s nothing like what you’re thinking, I’m sure. He just took out my soul real quick and showed me the strings tying us together.” She rushes to dispel your thoughts. Then why was she blushing? Did he… Touch her soul? That’s supposed to be an intimate thing for monsters, right?

“If that’s the story you’re going with, who am I to question? Just make sure you aren’t being tricked. I don’t want you to end up heartbroken” You tell Coco, who takes in your words before nodding. She’s always been a fair judge of character, able to sniff out if someone’s lying or not. If she’s ready to believe Cooper, then so are you. Even if it seems kind of impossible to find your soulmate so suddenly.

“Thank you for believing me. And for not freaking out. I tried to tell my mom about it and she was all like ‘Um, no??? Soulmates don’t exist?’ Then she ended the call. Didn’t even let me defend myself. I hate it when she does that…” Coco mumbles, then glares at her hands. You aren’t familiar with the types of family struggles she goes through. You and your grandparents barely ever got into fights, and when you did, they were solved fairly quickly.

“Sorry to hear that. At least you’re not under her roof anymore. She can’t tell you guys to stop seeing eachother.” You offer, and she brightens at your words.

After that, Coco decides to take a shower then pass out for a few hours. She was awake before the sun even rose and had a long day at work, so you can understand her need to relax. However, it’s her turn to cook dinner and you aren’t about to let her off the hook just because she’s tired.

Once you’re sure Coco is knocked out, you head out of the house to get ingredients for dinner, as is customary for the one not cooking. She doesn’t need a lot of stuff for the grilled cheese pizzas she wants to make, so you add on a few more ingredients and snacks so you don’t have to worry about them for your hike this weekend.

While grabbing the needed ingredients, you can’t help but remember your time with your family. Your grandma was the one who taught you how to grow plants. She was always so patient with you. No matter how many times you messed up, she’d simply tell you how great you did and that you’d surely do better next time. And your grandpa… Memories of him holed up in the study, pouring over old books and documents, leading the monsters to civilization and fighting for their rights… He was truly the kindest person you’d ever met. As for your parents...

You don’t even realize there are tears sliding down your cheeks until someone calls your name. “Breathe, Y/n. Come On, I Know You Can Do It.” Right… Breathe. You can do that. You can breathe. It’s not that hard. In… Out… Okay.

You repeat the process a bit, until your breaths even out and you are able to do it without thinking about it. When you finally look up at the person guiding you through your breathing exercises, you’re surprised to find a familiar bony face.

“Blue? I didn’t expect to see you here. Not that you can’t go to the grocery store! It’s just… I’m surprised to see you, is all.” You jumble your words, still a little on-edge from the panic attack you’d just experienced. Blue seems to understand that you’re still stressed out and gives you an understanding look.

“Well, Human, I Was Just Buying Some Ingredients For Dinner With A Couple Of My Cousins.” He tells you, his voice a bit more gentle that usual. That is, if ‘usual’ is trying to talk to someone during a rave. You don’t comment, just grateful that he’s not bringing up your little incident.

“Oh, what type of dinner are you making?” You ask him. From the looks of his basket, some sort of mexican food. Tacos, maybe?

“TACOS!” He confirms your suspicions in his usual tone of voice. You do your best not to flinch from the sudden increase in volume but by the concerned look Blue gives you, you failed miserably.

“That’s cool. I haven’t had tacos in ages. Maybe I’ll make them next time I cook dinner…” You trail off to stare at the food in your basket. If you put back a couple chip bags, you might be able to buy taco shells and ground beef.

“Your Ingredient Selection Is Quite Odd, Human. Do You Plan To Make Some Sort Of Chip Pizza?” Blue questions as he, too, looks over your basket. The fact that he thinks you might be making something out of the chips makes you regret grabbing so many.

“No, just pizza. Well, a rip-off pizza. It’s like… A grilled cheese sandwich, but with pizza toppings.” You’re about to explain the cheesy goodness that is the Grilled Cheese Pizza when two skeletons appear out of your peripherals.

You look them over and find that you don’t know them. Which is concerning considering how many skeletons you know. Just how many are there? And why are you meeting them all at once?

You also notice that you can’t see their faces, much like when you met Stretch and… Edge, was it? That’s what his contact name says, anyway. Maybe you really do need glasses, since this has been happening so often. Or eye surgery. You shudder at the thought of the optometrist prodding around in your eyes.

“Are these your cousins, Blue?” You ask your friend, who nods excitedly and attempts to introduce them before being abruptly cut off by the shorter skeleton of the two in front of you.

“INDEED WE ARE, HUMAN. YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS BLACK AND THIS SLOB BEHIND ME IS RUS.” ‘Black’ introduces himself. You’re starting to see a trend with the names of these skeletons. Color names seem to pop up far too often.

“slob rus at your service, human.” The taller one slurs out and you get the feeling that he’s winking under his face bubble. Maybe you should ask them about it. It’s making you uncomfortable.

“Hey, so, what’s with the static covering your faces? Is that just a thing monsters do, or..?” You question, gesturing to their faces. They seem taken aback by your words and look to eachother before turning around to discuss amongst themselves. Well then.

“Your brother, too, Blue. He had that the first time we met.” You tell the skeleton still at your side, who seems just as confused as your whole group, but is at least still paying attention to you.

“Ah, Well… How Do I Put This… I’m Not Sure If I’m Actually The One To Ask About This… Um… Where is Classic when you need him?” He mumbles the last part, but it sounds more like a regular person’s talking volume. Now you’re even more confused. Why can’t he explain what’s going on? Who is Classic? What does Classic have to do with not being able to see other people? It just doesn’t make sense and you have a feeling it never will.

Before you can voice any of your questions, the two skeletons in front of you both turn around, the smaller one stepping forward to address you.

“HUMAN. THIS MUST SEEM VERY STRANGE TO YOU. HOWEVER, IT IS COMPLETELY NATURAL AND WILL PASS WITH TIME. YOU’LL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT UNTIL WE CAN FIND YOUR TRIGGER.” Black tells you, somewhat cryptically. Trigger? What is that? Your mind is reeling with questions and all you wanna do is get home and eat Coco’s amazing grilled cheese pizzas. Not deal with… Whatever this is.

“Right. Well. Let’s hope we figure out whatever it is quickly.” You tell them balndly. The two skeletons in front of you nod too solemnly to be joking so you figure you can’t just laugh this one off. Blue seems to sense your discomfort and takes action, leading you and your cart towards checkout.

“Well, Y/n, It Was Lovely Seeing You Again. I Hope You Enjoy Your Dinner. See You Later!” He tells you, then pushes you towards the line. When you look over your shoulder, you see Blue walking up to the skeletons, his face contorted in concern for the two. You're really starting to hate these stupid static bubbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The Conversations Between Stars and Spades
> 
> Mwahaha, finally, a little bit of backstory! As well as an explanation of what's been going on between Cooper and Coco. A few of you were really close to calling me out on this fact, so be proud of yourselves!
> 
> If you have any suggestions of questions, feel free to reach out to me at my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint).


	17. The Conversations Between Stars and Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you and Coco have a heart to heart

Dinner that night is silent though not uncomfortably so. There are just too many thoughts running through your mind to start a conversation with your friend. You get the feeling it’s the same for Coco, too.

However, the both of you end up on your bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, stewing in your thoughts. Coco is the first to break the silence, though it isn’t with a topic you expect.

“You’re going to the lodge this weekend, right?” She asks, eyes still glassy with distant thoughts. You only nod before deciding that’s not enough of an answer for your inquisitive friend.

“Well, more like the property lines. I’m not sure if I'll be able to handle going inside But it’s still my property and I need to make sure everything is in order, at least externally.” You tell her, and she nods.

“I think that lodge was the best thing to happen to me.” She tells you after a moment of silence. You make a questioning noise, waiting for her to elaborate.

“It’s where I met you. It’s where my mom finally acknowledged me as a person and not some perfect little doll for her to dress up. And it’s where the Monsters ended up when they descended from the mountain. It’s the whole reason Cooper and I met and it’s why we’re still together today.” She rambles. All of her words are true. You can remember every instance she’s talking about.

Meeting Coco, dragging her around to the third floor of the lodge where you showed her your room and the stars filtering in through the clerestory roof. Finding out more about her, finding out why she never showed any emotions while in her mother's midst. The eventual argument the two of them got into, in which you backed up your best friend and gave her the confidence to stand up for herself.

The day the monsters descended, the two of you were studying in the kitchen. When they finally arrived at the lodge, Coco hid you behind her back and bravely stepped forward, even if you could see her shaking. Neither of you could’ve known it then, but the monsters never would’ve hurt you. Even so, you felt so much pride at your friend's confidence and bravery, her good judgement in having you go back to the house to retrieve your grandparents.

Then, a few months later, you took her out to town to help out at a monster charity event. That’s where the two of you met Cooper, a monster just a bit younger than yourself. He was kind and nervous, but Coco was so strong and confident that he practically fell for her on the spot.

Then the last group of monsters came out from the underground. They were so solemn, they reeked of death and decay. You reeked of sadness. It was enough to plummet a monster's HP to zero. Yet, Coco stood by your side that day, head held high. The moment you marched out of the forest, she was there. She didn’t leave your side once as she guided you to the Monster Bureau of Integration. She held your hand tightly as you handed over your grandparents' will to the police and explained to them that your grandparents had disappeared with only the will left behind. 

She was always there for you, and you for her. The thought brings a smile to your face and you reach out to grip her hand. She squeezes back gently, a fond smile on her face. If you were to guess, she was thinking of the same things you were.

“Yeah. I really like that Lodge. Maybe, one day, I’ll be able to open it back up. Maybe one day we’ll be able to go back to it together.” You mumble. The both of you sit for a while, happily reminiscing the past. It doesn’t take long for you to fall asleep, happily holding your friends hand as the two of you snuggle closer together.

~~~

You wake up the next morning, surprisingly, without Coco next to you. Where did she go? Is she already up? You slide out of bed and wander the house, trying to find your roommate.

She’s sleeping peacefully in her bed when you finally do find her and that’s even more odd. Once Coco is woken up the first time, she doesn’t go back to sleep. The only solution that you can come up with is she sleep walked to her bed by herself.

“Coco, It’s time to get up.” You whisper and she immediately bolts upright. She looks kind of frantic for a moment before her eyes land on your frame and her stiff posture relaxes.

“Oh, y/n. I thought you were someone else.” She mumbles, her voice a little crackly from sleep. You help her up from the bed and begin looking through her drawers for clothes. Overalls and a striped shirt should be a good style for today…

“So… Since you’re soulmates with Cooper, are you guys gonna start living together?” You ask her, then pass over the clothes. She strips with little care for your innocent eyes and puts the clothes on just as quickly.

“Nah. Unless you want me to? If anything, we’ll just be seeing eachother a lot more often. Something about the bond not allowing us to be away from eachother for too long…” She trails off with a yawn, subsequently making you yawn. The both of you wander out of her room to start on breakfast; eggs and bacon sound kind of good.

“Strange. I thought the whole soulmate thing would be a lot like marriage for the people involved.” You wander aloud as you settle a couple of pans over the burners. Coco reaches into the fridge for the food you plan on making and puts them on the counter for easy access.

“No way! You can’t decide whether or not you like your soulmate that way immediately. Like, imagine you just barely met your soulmate yesterday. Would you immediately jump into making out with them?” She asks you, and you think hard about her words. The people you met yesterday… Rus and Black? Those were their names, right? Your memory of them is foggy at best and you definitely didn’t feel any carnal urges to jump their bones. But now that you have the knowledge that soulmates exist, you can’t help but wonder if one of them could be your soulmate. Or both? Is it possible to have more than one? Your brain hurts just thinking about it.

“I suppose not. I mean, I don’t think I’ve met my soulmate so it’s hard to say, but I highly doubt I’d jump straight into things.” You tell her after a while.

“You don’t think you’ve met your soulmate? Does that mean you have a guess at who it could be?” She asks in a joking manner and you can’t help but blush at the suggestiveness in her voice.

“Me? Have a soulmate? No way! I think one of us having a monster soulmate is enough.” You tell her, but she picks up on your words immediately and begins questioning you.

“Whoever said a thing about specifically monster soulmates? And is that a blush I see?” She teases, poking at your flushed cheeks. You swat her hand away with the spatula in your hand, but she just comes back with new vigor.

“Y/n! If you think you know who your soulmate is, you gotta tell me! We can be soulmate buddies!” She squeals, wrapping you in an inescapable hug. Sighing, you relent and decide to tell her your theory on who it is.

“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. So, you know how I went out for groceries yesterday?” You ask her and she makes a remark about all of the chips you picked up before agreeing with your statement. “Well, I met up with a friend while there and then I met that friend's cousins. Both of their faces were blotted out, like on those cop shows where they can’t show you the person’s face.” You tell her, and are about to continue, but she interrupts you with a gasp.

“That’s what Cooper looked like when I went to meet him on his birthday!” Her words take a moment to process before you decide that, yes, these people just might actually be your soulmates. That is, if it’s possible to have more than one. You still aren’t sure.

“Alright, well, unless that’s just a coincidence, it seems pretty likely that those guys might just be my soulmates. Oh! Not to mention these other guys that I met. Like, when you had me go out for silk cream the other week? There was a skeleton there who’s face I couldn’t make out. Then, when I was at the bar with Richie the other day, yet another skeleton’s face was all blurred out!” You tell her, gesturing your arms wildly. She nods along to your words, but remains silent for a while afterwards.

“Well, it seems to me like you need to get your eyes checked, or you’re about to start some sort of skeleton harem. Both of which are bad. I wish you the best of luck.” She tells you simply, not really helping to quell your worries. You let out a frustrated groan before turning back to the food you’re making and plate it up.

“I really hope it’s not the latter. I don’t know how I’ll be able to handle four, maybe even eight skeletons! Not to mention there’s probably more just lying in wait for me. At this point, I’m scared to step outside.” You tell her as you poke at your breakfast. This conversation is making you lose your appetite.

“Well, maybe you should ask one of them for answers. Monsters seem to want to shout that they found their soulmates to the world once they’re sure they’ve found them, so if you just ask they might get the guts to tell you.” Coco says. Her words make sense. It shouldn’t be too much trouble to just ask one of them. In fact, you have one of their numbers right now. So, why not throw caution to the wind and ask straight out if they are your soulmates? What’s the worst that could happen?

~~~

Turns out, not getting a reply is the worst that can happen. You texted Edge at seven in the morning. It is now ten at night and you still haven’t gotten a reply. You set your phone to the side and pull out animal crossing, deciding that it’s the best thing that you can do for now. Waiting isn’t going to help so you might as well do something fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Meteor Shower
> 
> I was planning on updating 'Meeting your soulmate in real life' this week, but everything I was writing just came out wrong so I'll be withholding the chapter for a later date. I just want to give y'all my best work, not some poorly planned piece of writing.
> 
> If you wanna reach out to me or offer any suggestions, you can talk to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint). 'Till next time~


	18. Meteor Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Which You Learn Some Things About Monsters

To your immense surprise, Clementine is still up when you log on. The answer to your unasked question is that he’s having a meteor shower on his island, meaning that shooting stars are going to be falling all night. You, being the little astronomy nerd that you are, ask if you can join him.

So, here you are, landing on Clementine’s island, fully planning on staring at your screen for the rest of the night in order to get as many star fragments as possible. That is, until you see that it’s not just you and Clementine on his island. It seems his whole family has the same idea, including a couple of new additions you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting.

“STELLA! I’M SO GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT. I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ENJOY STARS AND THE LIKE. BUT BEFORE YOU GET TOO INTO YOUR STARGAZING, I WANT YOU TO MEET MY COUSINS, BLACK AND RUS.” Clementine tells you once you meet up with him. Behind his character are two people you haven’t met before. 

One of them has a face identical to Stretch’s and you notice that he’s wearing a thick jacket and ripped jeans. He stands just behind who you assume to be Black, who- true to his name- is fully decked out in black clothing. You wave a little greeting and they give one back before taking off, likely to find the perfect place to stargaze.

It’s kind of funny to you, how so many people can be gathered together under a fake sky to watch fake meteorites shoot across the sky. It makes you want to do it in real life, gather together with a bunch of your friends to watch the stars. Maybe you’ll ask your friends if they want to go stargazing with you after you come back from your hike.

You end up fairly close to your two new animal crossing friends. It turns out they really did scope out the best place to watch the stars and you’re about to be completely unapologetic in shoving yourself between the two of them.

Apparently, you don’t have to be apologetic as Rus steps away a bit to allow you into their group. It’s almost natural how easily you slip into their huddle and look up to the sky to watch the meteorites shoot across the sky. 

As you stare at your screen, you can’t help but compare the stars in the game’s sky to your own stars. They shine a lot more brightly than your own stars, which is to be expected. This game does take place on a previously uninhabited island, which means there should be little to no light pollution. Even if this whole thing is just colored pixels, you admire the way they gave each star it’s own color, it’s own size, it’s own personality. Of the few clusters you can see, it looks like there might even be constellations to map out.

Since you are still shoved between the two islanders, you decide to look them over, as well. Their names ring bells somewhere in your mind, but you can’t quite figure out from where. Not to mention the names of their cousins. Edge, Blue and Stretch… You’ve recently met people with those names, you realize. And the last time you met with Blue… Didn’t you meet a couple of people with similar names to these two?

Before you can think too much on it, a loud crash from the kitchen startles you out of your bed. Coco is usually quiet when she gets up so late… You move to your door and peek out, trying to catch sight of what could’ve possibly made that sound.

The sight of your best friend pinning her boyfriend to the table is enough to stop you in your tracks. After a moment of staring, words finally decide to spill from your mouth.

“Yeah, nope. I’m not about to watch my best friend make out on the dining table.” You so eloquently state. Coco looks up from her boyfriend and her eyes fill with relief.

“Y/n, thank the stars you’re here! This guy isn’t Cooper. Actually, Cooper’s in my room right now, probably cowering in the closet.” Coco tells you off-handedly. Did she get her hands on some drugs? What sort of nonsense is she spouting?

Before you can get your answer, Coco’s door swings open from the end of the hallway and out walks your friend’s newly dubbed soulmate. Alright, this night just went from zero to a hundred real fast.

“Coco, what the heck am I looking at?” You question your friend, who eases up on the person beneath her just enough for them to breathe.

“That’s what I’d like to know! This guy just knocked on the door and asked if he could come in to talk about some stuff. I thought he seemed familiar,but when I couldn’t see his face I got worried.” She tells you, then glares down at the Cooper in her hands. You take a moment to look him over and realize he’s dressed far differently from usual.

Decked out in full dress clothes, shiny shoes and a smug grin, he’s nothing like the nervous hawiian shirt wearing, croc having Cooper you know.

“There’s no need to worry, Ma’am. I’m simply here to complete the link.” Not-Cooper speaks up, addressing you with a wink. The Cooper you know would never flirt at you! He’s too deeply in love with Coco to even think of talking to another girl in any way that isn’t strictly platonic.

“Holy orion, that isn’t Cooper!” You exclaim. Then his words hit you and you backtrack. “Also, what do you mean ‘complete the link’? Are you in some sort of cult or something? Clone gone bad? Cooper, come in here and explain this!” You shout at the Cooper behind you. He nervously shuffles forward, gills flexing in worry. When his eyes land on his counterpart, he stiffens up and begins to shuffle awkwardly.

“I’m not sure if I can. It’s kind of… A long story.” He mumbles half-heartedly. You aren’t about to settle for that excuse so you do the only thing you can think of. You hit him squarely on the head.

“Well it better start becoming a short story really quickly. I’m not about to let my best friend hold down that weirdo all night and I’m sure as hell not going to be coming out of tonight without an explanation.” You tell him. His little fishy eyes dilate at the sternness in your voice.

You’re pretty sure that, for as long as you’ve known him, you’ve never raised your voice in front of Cooper. It’s something you very rarely do, anyway, and it takes too much effort to be mad. You’d rather calmly talk out any problems than let violent actions speak for you. However, you’re at your wits end right now. You’re coming to some very strange conclusions and it’s almost one in the morning and you are not about to let this situation fall to the back of your mind, no matter how much your soul is telling you to not act rashly.

“R-right. Um… How to begin… I guess I'd have to start with how the clans are split up. I’m sure you know that there are four different clans, each with a queen and king at the head. The fifth group of monsters is split among the groups depending on their mental stability and their need for certain types of magic.” Cooper starts, his voice slowly becoming stronger. You suppose he’s getting into his whole ‘monster historian’ persona. 

“Don’t forget to mention how some of ‘em just up and disappeared after surfacing! The initial headcount for that group has decreased exponentially in the past few years.” Not-Cooper speaks up. Even though his voice is the same as Cooper’s, the snark in it makes you do a double-take.

“I’ve already heard of all of this. Get on with the story. My arms are starting to hurt.” Coco drawls out, but when the Cooper under her arms starts to shift, she slams him back down into the table with the force of a supernova. You suddenly remember why you don’t wrestle with Coco.

“O-oh! Yeah. Just thought I’d catch Y/n up. Well… I guess the next thing you’d need to know is that all of the clans are made up of the same group of people. It’s likely that, at some point, there were five versions of me wandering around. Though, I doubt I would’ve survived in the fell clans… My stats are pretty low.” Cooper says, his voice taking on a whole new level of nervousness. You suppose, if you were to talk about your own death, you’d be pretty nervous, too.

“Are you saying there are… Alternate versions of every single monster out there? Like, alternate realities?” Coco asks. She seems to be asking the right questions, so you decide to leave the questioning to her.

“Pretty much? I don’t have all of the information but it seems like that’s what’s going on. After you understand that, this situation is pretty simple. This guy is most likely from the Swap clan and Coco started the bond but never finished it. Now he’s feeling lost without a full connection and came looking for it.” Cooper says like it’s the most simple thing in the world. In a way, it is. This guy is Cooper, he fell for Coco, now he’s here for his soulmate. It’s exactly what happened to the Cooper you know, but sped up in a way.

“Makes sense to me. Coco, why don’t you let the fellow go and we can find out what’s going on.” You tell her. She gives you an incredulous look, but eventually relents her hold on the person below her. He stands up and brushes off his suit before holding his hand out to Coco.

“I apologize for the strange start to our relationship. I was simply trying to complete our bond before it could become damaged. Should that happen…” Both Coopers shudder at the thought. You and Coco share confused looks so you decide to ask them about it.

“What would happen if the Bond got damaged?” The Cooper in a suit, who you decide you’re going to call Spiffy, looks you over for a moment before sighing and answering your question.

“Ever heard of obsessive behavior, stalking, other stuff like that? Some monsters feel the pull to their soulmate that’s so strong it’s impossible to stay away from them. That’s usually only when the bond is incomplete. If a soulbond is damaged, though, it’s possible for the monster to get violent in their advances, going as far as kidnapping their mate or even killing them in an act of violent longing.” Spiffy tells you. So, pretty much, monsters become Yanderes when their bonds are damaged. Well then. It’s a good thing Spiffy is taking action to prevent that in himself.

“Good to know. Well. I’m gonna leave you guys to your little bonding moment. Cooper, you wanna get the iced tea and join me in my room?” You ask the clearly still nervous monster beside you. He quickly accepts the escape route you offer him and rushes for the fridge before ducking into your room. Before you turn back to your abode, you shoot a glare at Spiffy, not even attempting to hide the threat in your voice. “If anything weird happens out here, I will know and the retribution will be fierce.”

With that, you leave them, Coco glaring at Spiffy and Spiffy looking slightly fearful but still very smug. You just hope that they can work out their problems before you head out for work. Seems like you won’t be sleeping tonight.

Cooper is settled into your desk chair, nervously playing with his cup of tea. He clearly expects you to say something, perhaps scold him for not saying anything sooner, but you’re too exhausted to chew him out. Besides, you’re pretty sure Coco’s gonna do it for you.

“Hm, you owe me a flower cart for this.” You tell him as you trounce into your bed. He looks up, startled at your words, but the relief in his expression is clear. You pull your switch from beneath you and are surprised to see all of your animal crossing friends gathered around you. Most of them are doing emotes while the other half seem to be spamming you.

“Stop spamming” You tell them, which gets the messages to stop for only a second before a rush of questions comes at you.

“STELLA, WHERE WERE YOU?!” That’s Clementine.

“WE WERE SO WORRIED!” Blue.

“why’d you have to leaf us” Pretty sure that was Red, though you could be wrong.

There are various responses to the pun; most angry, others laughing. You decide to finally speak up and answer some questions.

“Sorry guys, just had some issues. My friend’s soulmate came over. But there are two of them? Sorry if that doesn’t make sense. Not sure how much y’all know about soulmates.” Silence is the only reply that greets you, along with the occasional fidget from the more outspoken in your group. Maybe they don’t believe in soulmates? Perhaps you shouldn’t have brought it up.

“OH. IS YOUR FRIEND A MONSTER?” Clementine asks after a while of awkward shuffling. You glance up at Cooper, who’s sipping on his cup of iced Sea Tea.

“Yeah.” Is your simple reply. They seem to let out a sigh of relief if the collective pause is anything to go by. You’re getting a little confused at the cryptic way they are acting.

“then they probably explained the whole multiple versions of the same person thing.” Peony speaks up, which you agree to. The rest of the group is suspiciously quiet for a while before they collectively take off in different directions, leaving you alone to your stargazing. You decide to just ignore your brain's demand for answers and enjoy the rest of your night- wait it’s two in the morning. Nevermind. Time to log off. Before you leave, though, you decide you should probably tell your friends that you won’t be on over the weekend.

“I’m gonna head back to my island now, guys. I’m not gonna be on over the weekend, though. I’ve got some family stuff to take care of.” You tell them. Various responses to your words are said as you make your way to the airport. Clementine is there when you reach it and he waves his goodbye before you step inside the building and take off for your island. Guess it’s time to face your real life problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Sleepover
> 
> I have a new story I'm making called Cages- it takes place in an Underswap AU where people's lives are dictated by the books they receive on the day they're born. It deals with darker themes than this story does, so if you're into that sort of stuff, I think you would enjoy the read.
> 
> If you wanna reach out to me or offer any suggestions, you can talk to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint). 'Till next time~


	19. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cooper stays the night and you notice something strange.

“So, are you staying over or are you gonna head home?” You ask Cooper as you set down your switch. He startles and almost sprays the tea in his mouth across your room.

“U-um… I should probably stay. Right? Coco probably wouldn’t want me to leave, especially after all of this.” He says, rambling slightly. You wave away his worries, trying to get him to calm down.

“I don’t think she’d care one way or another. She’d probably just want some cuddles and to ask you a bunch of questions. Though, she might be too tired to ask anything.” You tell him. He seems to relax at your words and even lets out a little chuckle. This whole situation is kind of funny. At least, to _you_ it is. Coco probably thinks otherwise.

“Well, I can set up a nest for you, if you’d like? I’ve got tons of blankets in my closet and we can have a sleepover!” You tell him. He lights up at your words and nods enthusiastically. The two of you wander to your closet and throw open the doors to reveal the slightly messy space. It takes a moment, but you procure five blankets and a bin filled with stuffed animals.

The two of you set about creating the perfect nest in the middle of your room. By the time it’s done, Coco seems to be finished talking things out with Spiffy and enters your room, her eyes tired but with a gratified smile on her face.

“Now that that’s done and over with, I’m ready for platonic cuddles.” She says, then vaults herself onto the nest. Cooper immediately spoons her from behind and you slide in front of her to wrap the two in a hug.

~~~

You wake up by getting wacked in the face.

It appears that Cooper is a violent sleeper.

You gently move his hand from your face and settle it over his soulmates shoulders before moving to your closet to pick out your outfit for the day. It’s friday. Tomorrow, you’re going to be going to the Lodge to make sure everything is in order. You feel butterflies in your stomach at the thought.

It’s fairly early in the morning and you decide you have enough time to go out and get yourself and your friends breakfast before heading to work. Though, you don’t have enough time to stop by Muffet’s.

Instead, you walk to the cafe on your street corner, order three breakfast meals, then head right back home. By the time you get there, both of your friends are up and meandering around the kitchen. Coco’s getting started on a pot of coffee and Cooper is straightening out the room from yesterday’s events.

“Thanks, y/n. You’re too thoughtful.” Coco says, then takes the bag filled with food from your hands. She quickly dishes out the pancakes, bacon and eggs to three separate plates, then sets them on the table for each of you to eat from. You devour your food in record time, then go to wash your dishes. All the while, Coco seems to be giving you an odd look.

“What’s on your mind?” You question her.

“You’re going to the lodge tomorrow. I was wondering if you need help packing today.” She says after a second. There is something specific you need… 

“Actually, that would be great! If you could pick out some hiking clothes and get my Gramps' jacket, I should be able to get the rest.” You tell her. She nods, then goes back to finishing off her breakfast.

You wave good-bye to your friends, then head outside. Only to run into Richie.

“Sup cous.” He says. You give him a little wave and the two of you head outside together. He offers to drive you to work, which you gratefully accept. On the ride, you ask him about his plans for the weekend.

“I finally set some good plans with Kaiya. Guess I have you to thank for that. How’d you do it, by the way? Get into my phone.” He asks, gesturing to his phone. The lock on the device is literally 1-2-3-4. You had no difficulty guessing his password.

“Magic. I also have magic drunk texts, so of course Kaiya would agree to a friendly outing with you. But do you know the plans I set up for your friendly outing? No. No you don’t.” You tell him. He almost slams on the breaks out of shock, then sends you a horrified look.

“So that was your end goal. You want me to make an ass out of myself in front of Kaiya by not knowing what we’re supposed to be doing!” He shouts, completely scandalized by your devious plot. Your only reply is evil laughter.

The rest of the ride is filled with him trying to coax the day’s plans out of you, but you refuse every bribe he throws at you. Luckily, Richie isn’t one for throwing empty threats around so you aren’t too afraid for your life. Yet. Still, you don't feel like being too evil, so you tell him the first part of the plans you made.

By the time you arrive at work, the sun is rising over the horizon, creating a nice rainbow of colors in the sky. You take it all in before walking into the greenhouse. Sans isn’t here today. You wonder briefly if something happened to him.

The day quickly becomes hectic once your coworkers start arriving. New flowers are brought in, old plants are disposed of, you have a new employee to train. All in all, it’s a very crazy day at work. It helps distract you from the slight panic flitting through your soul from the lack of your punning friend. He’s never just not shown up for a whole day…

The walk back home is a little tense. You keep an eye on the street for any skeletons, but it seems as if they’ve disappeared off the face of the earth. It’s a strange contrast to the past few days, where you couldn’t seem to breathe without a new skeleton popping up. You don’t like the feeling.

“I took the liberty of pulling out your camping stuff.” Coco says when you walk into the house. Sure enough, two bags filled with camping equipment and your clothes are laid out in front of your door.

“Thanks, Coco. All that’s left is to get some food packed and get some rest. I’m kinda excited!” You tell her, then saunter into the kitchen. You pull out monster food, trail mix, chips, a couple cans of fruit… Pretty much anything that isn’t going to spoil after one day out of the fridge. Coco pulls out a backpack and stuffs the food in it before placing it in front of your door. Now all that’s left to do is wait... 

You quickly get bored with waiting.

“Why don’t you come over to my island? We can go shopping and play some hide-and-seek until it gets dark.” Coco offers, which you quickly agree to. It doesn’t take long for the two of you to settle down on the couch with your switches in hand.

Time seems to just fly as you play with Coco. It reminds you of your time spent in the lodge, dragging her around to catch bugs or go stargazing… The memory is bittersweet with the knowledge of what you’re going to do tomorrow. You wish you could bring her with you… But it’d be too painful.

Before you know it, night is falling and so are your eyes. Coco’s passed out beside you, so you pick her up and drag her to her bed. Deciding she won’t mind, you curl up beside her and fall asleep. Tomorrow…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Encounter In The Woods
> 
> *looks at all the comments about going to the Lodge this chapter*  
> *looks away*
> 
> In all seriousness, I wanted to use this chapter to tie up a few loose ends. Sorry to those of you who wanted to sleep at the Lodge tonight. We aren't going to enter it quite yet, but we will be getting very close next chapter!
> 
> If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me at my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint). 'Till next time~


	20. Encounter In The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you finally use your car and take a walk through the woods

The morning comes early for you. It always has, you suppose. However, you don’t think you’ve ever woken up before the sun. That’s just bad karma for most days. Not today, though. You feel quite lucky today, if a little nostalgic.

You pluck up your phone, keys, bags filled with camping equipment and your bag filled with food. To finish off your look, you slip on your grandpa’s jacket. Today’s going to be a good day, you can just feel it! So you hop into the car that you almost never use, start it up, then head out.

You left most of the lodge’s hiking trails open when you left. There were a few that led to picturesque views of Ebott, others that went straight into the mountain. There was one that led to a waterfall and another that led to a meadow. You only left three closed.

The first hiking trail leads to the Lodge’s parking lot. The second leads to the Cabin Grounds. The third goes to your favorite area in the whole mountain; a cave with bioluminescent moss and fungi. There’s a warm pool in the middle of the cave that you used to swim in quite often. Maybe it’s a little selfish, but that’s the one place you can go to relax and feel safe.

Your first course of action for the day is to get to the main parking grounds. You don’t park in the Lodge’s parking lot for fear of getting too close, but you do check up on the area to see if there are any vandals. Strangely enough, the last time you checked, you swore you saw new skid marks.

Once safely parked, you check the area to see if anyone is out and about for an early morning hike. There’s nobody. To be expected, since the sun is barely up. You take your bags and lock your car up, then step towards the gated off section of the hiking grounds. There are multiple locks on the gate, each increasingly harder to unlock. You even got a monster puzzle lock! It was a lot of fun to put together.

Once everything is undone, you slip in and redo the locks, then head on your merry way. The sounds of nature surround you; quiet and soothing. Squirrels race up trees at your approach and dirt crunches under your hiking shoes. The familiar swish of your jacket makes you relax significantly.

*You are filled with CALM

You make it to the campgrounds just as the first rays of the morning sun peek out from behind the trees. Nothing is amiss, you note. The shed is still locked up tightly and the same logs from the last camp fire are rotting away in the hearth. It’s a sad sight. Something in you wishes you could do better. If not for yourself, then for your grandparents. 

You take a couple hours to clean up the area. Sweeping up leaves, plucking weeds and disposing of the old firewood. By the end of your cleaning spree, the area looks a little better. You decide it’ll be best to set up camp here and move on to check the rest of your facilities.

It takes another hour to get camp set up, but it’s worth the weight off your back. Picking up your food bag, you decide it’ll be best to keep it with you. Don’t want wild animals to get into your supplies... 

The next area you visit is the Cabin Grounds. Your grandparents often got too many guests for the eight available bedrooms in their lodge, so they made five cabins for any families that might want to stay. Each cabin is identical to the next, with two bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room, living room and a basement that doubles as a bomb shelter. They didn’t have good memories from World War Two.

It takes nearly an hour to get to the Cabins, but it’s worth it when you see them still standing tall. There’s moss and leaves clinging to each Cabin’s roof, but they seem to be in good condition otherwise. No cave-ins that you can see, they aren’t rotting in any way, which is a plus. You don’t see or smell any mold. Everything seems to be fine.

You only try the doors on each cabin. None of them open, which is reassuring. You don’t enter any of them. You’re afraid of what memories you might find.

The hour hike back to your campsite is filled with silence. It feels like the forest around you just stopped. You rub your arms to warm yourself from the sudden chill in the air. Why is it suddenly so tense?

The sudden uncomfortable air surrounding you makes you stop in your tracks as you begin to gather your stuff to head to the Lodge. Maybe you… Should check it tomorrow. That sounds like a good idea… Here is safe. For now.

Starting a fire is a piece of cake for you. Your grandma taught you how to do it when you went camping with her. She was always teaching you skills to keep yourself safe while in the wilderness. Maybe that’s why you’re able to dodge the thing that flies right for your head.

Not daring to glance back at the object that most likely lodged itself in the tree behind you, you zero in on your attacker. It’s a… Skeleton. A large one, at that. They appear to be between Sans and Papyrus when it comes to height and you’re honestly kind of confused. Another blurred out face… But they look so much like Sans...

“S-Sans? Why… Did you just attack me?” You ask the monster before you. Even if they aren’t actually Sans, maybe they’ll recognize his name and stop attacking you?

They hesitate for a moment, before they shake themself out of their shock and reach their hand out, towards your chest. You’re not one to get into Encounters, but Cooper has sparred with you on occasion to let out some of his pent-up magic. This is so much different from those times… It feels violent, blood thirsty.

Your soul is a matte teal color, though it shines brightly in the black expanse before you. The person in front of you looks so much like Sans, you can’t help the bit of offence at your friend engaging you in such a violent manner.

The feeling of a Check washes over you, clueing you in on the Not-Sans’ actions.

*Y/n L/n ATK. 0 DEF. 30

*They Can’t Hurt You.  
*Why Are You Doing This?

You’ve never had your soul question someone like that. It’s kind of amusing. The Not-Sans in front of you does not appear to be as amused as you are. You take your turn to Check him right back. Might as well find out who this guy is…

Y/N LV 1 HP (30/30)  
*Fight * _Act_ *Item *Mercy

* _Check_ * ~~Reminisce~~  
*Plead *Feed  
*Reason *Defend

*Sans ATK. 1 DEF. 1

*The Weakest Monster.  
*You Seem Familiar.

So this is Sans? Then why does he have that bubble over his face? And why is he so much bigger than the last time you saw him? Whatever the answer, you don’t want to fight him. Not that you can (*ATK. 0). You’ll just have to talk him down.

A barrage of bones flies your way and you barely manage to hop over them. Your soul becomes weighted and you’re forced to the floor, barely getting up in time to roll out of the way of another bone attack. You aren’t as lucky as the last barrage he sends your way grazes your shoulder. It doesn’t hurt as badly as you thought it would… (HP: 29/30)

*Act  
*Plead  
*You tell Sans you don’t want to fight him.  
*Sans attacks slow down

His turn comes around again and you manage to get over most of the attacks with little hassle. That is, until a giant dog skull materializes. The smell of plasma fills the air and you aren’t able to jump out of the way as the attack hits you head on. ( HP: 27/30)

*Act  
*Reason  
*You tell Sans there’s no reason to fight.  
*Sans seems to realize the same thing.

A much slower, less condensed attack crawls your way. It’s easy enough to just hop over it, but you’re still a little cautious. Maybe he needs one more push… 

*Act  
*Feed  
*You pass Sans your Spider Donut

*...

*Sans Is Sparing You

With a sigh of relief, you accept the MERCY. Geez, you were not expecting an Encounter today… Especially not by Sans of all people.

“Sans, what was that for? I thought we were friends?” You ask him. His face is still covered by a bubble, but you suspect he’s looking guilty right now.

“sorry, treat. thought you were an intruder. though, i suppose i’m the intruder here, huh?” He questions. He’s not wrong. This is your land and you never invited him here, but… The two of you are friends (you think?). You aren’t about to get all bent out of shape over something like this.

“Heh, kinda. You look a little worn out. How about I cook up some food and we can discuss what you’re doing out here?” You ask him, then gesture to your fire. He lets out a soft chuckle, then follows you to your hearth. You suspect the two of you are going to have a lot to talk about.

“So, what brings you onto this hiking trail? It’s kind of blocked off, so I suspect you aren’t here by accident.” You tell him as you set up a few pointers to cook your hotdogs. Sans seems to relax at the smell of the food and settles back onto his log seat.

“mm, was hunting.” Is his simple answer. Okay then. You didn’t take Sans for a hunter, but who are you to question this monster's hobbies? It’s not your place to judge.

“you were here when we came down from the mountain. i remember.” He says, almost like it’s a miracle he remembered it. You suppose, it is kind of strange for him to remember you. You didn’t do anything special or noteworthy for any of the monsters. You only showed them where they needed to go…

“Ah, really? I wonder what group you were in…” You contemplate. Whichever one he was in, you doubt he’d have fond memories of you.

“the last one.” Yep. He definitely doesn’t have fond memories of you. You practically dusted what was left of that group with your overwhelming sadness.

“Sorry.”

“you don’t have anything to apologize about. if anything, i should be thanking you. we weren’t sure what we were going to do when we got out of that mountain, but there you were. like a shining beacon, you lead us out of the forest and to civilization. you might’ve been sad then, but it was obvious you were going through something. Guess what i’m trying to say is… thank you.” Something in you lightens at his words. The crushing guilt from that day falls away, if only a little.

“I’m not sure what to say. I always regretted that day. If I’d been just a bit quicker. If i’d tried a little harder… Maybe I could’ve saved them. Maybe I could’ve helped you guys out more. But it’s in the past now. What’s done is done and I can’t change it. But thank you for talking to me about it. I think I needed this sort of closure.” You tell him with a gentle smile. The faint smell of iron fills the air and you glance around, curious of where it’s coming from. His hand is up by his head. He appears to be scratching at something, but the bubble is hiding his actions from you.

Your soul aches a little. The longer you look at him, the more weary your soul grows. He’s not Sans. At least, he’s not the Sans that follows you around the greenhouse at the university. Each group of monsters was almost a direct parallel to the last, each filled with the same types of monsters. So, in a way, this might be Sans. Just a different version of him. Memories of the other skeletons you’ve met filter through your mind. Some of those monsters are probably Sans, too. And the ones who aren’t? They’re probably Papyrus. Or is their name Stretch? ...Edge?

“Do you have a brother?” You ask the Sans beside you. He’s reaching his hand out for one of the hotdogs, but he stops at your words.

“yep. good ol’ paps. he’d be happy to see you again. i can call him over, if you’d like?” He suggests, then digs in his pockets for a phone. It’s a newer model, you note. Monster technology is a lot cooler than humans in that it contains portals that lead to pockets of space. Anything can fit in them. You once saw a monster take a whole couch out of their phone.

“Sure, why not. But I gotta warn you, since this seems to be a trend, I might not remember him if he’s got a bubble over his face like you do.” You tell him, gesturing to the static dot blotting out his features. For a moment, Sans stops moving, then he looks you all the way over, as if trying to find the answer to a puzzle. Or, you assume that’s what he’s doing. Everything is silent for a moment. Then he barks out a laugh.

“hehe... i knew you were special. who’d have guessed we’d have the same… Paps is gonna be so happy.” Sans wheezes out between laughs. You don’t understand what he’s getting at, but decide that it’s not important right now. You honestly just want to meet this new skeleton, eat your food, then turn in for the night.

Sans calls up his brother, has a hilarious back-and-forth with him over the phone, then hangs up. Not a minute later, the sound of bushes rustling alerts you of another person's presence. You are not expecting a literal giant to pop out of the treeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Let's Eat
> 
> This is, by far, one of my favorite chapters. From here on, the mood might be a bit stifling, since the reader is trying to suppress memories and I wanted to bring out those feelings through the environment. I really can't express how excited I am to see your responses!
> 
> Speaking of me being excited! I got a couple pieces of [art](https://punnypearlpeppermint.tumblr.com/post/628845450097836032/first-piece-of-fanart-for-my-story-meeting-your) for my story, which you can see on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time!


	21. Let's Eat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you share some food and come to a decision.

Papyrus’ looming form overtakes you immediately. Like he’s some sort of giant corpse from long ago, reanimated and ready to swallow you whole. However, when he gets up close to you, he just kind of stares for a moment before withdrawing. You follow his example and shuffle back a bit.

“Offer him some food, treat.” Sans orders, so you comply.

“Do you want some food, Papyrus? The hotdogs should be done by now.” You tell the giant, then gesture to the fire. The Papyrus immediately brightens at your words and rushes towards the fire. His gloved hands close around three of the sticks and he plucks them up without a second thought.

You watch in morbid fascination as the sticks disappear behind Papyrus’ bubble, never to be seen again. Wait a second. Did he just eat the sticks as well? That’s not good.

“Wait! Papyrus! Spit those sticks out! They aren’t for eating!” You yell at him, then go up to pat him on the back. Papyrus agrees with your sentiments and begins disgorging the sticks while Sans chuckles at the scene before him.

“T-THANK YOU HUMAN. I FORGOT THAT STICKS ARE NOT MADE OF MAGIC. SO IS MOST HUMAN FOOD, SO I'M SURPRISED THAT I WAS ABLE TO EAT THE HOTDOGS AS WELL.” He pants out once the sticks are successfully dislodged from his throat… area. The place where his throat should be.

“Oh, I have a lot of magic infused food. Since I was originally making these for Sans, I thought it’d be best if I made magic food instead.” You tell him in answer. Sans seems to have stopped chuckling and is looking at you in what you hope is gratitude. You really wish these bubbles would go away. They’re making you really uncomfortable.

“WELL, AS THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU’VE HELPED ME OUT, HUMAN, IT WOULD BE MY HONOR TO CALL YOU MY FRIEND.” Papyrus tells you as he shifts into a dramatic pose. You hope you’ll remember him. He’s too amazing of a person to forget.

“I’d be happy to be friends with you! Although, with that bubble on your face, I might not be able to remember you. Or Sans for that matter. Is there any way to turn them off?” You ask, desperate for the static to disappear. The longer you hang around them, the more your soul wants to throw itself out of your chest and away from these people.

“WHILE WE’D BE HAPPY TO FIND YOUR TRIGGER, WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT YOU, SO IT’D BE IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS. TELL ME, HUMAN. WHAT IS THE TREND ALL OF YOUR MATES HAVE IN COMMON WITH YOU?” Papyrus asks like it’s a normal question. You have no clue what he’s talking about. Trigger? Trend? Mates? Is he talking about soulmates? How do you even know if you have one or not? Is he your soulmate? Does that make the other Papyrus you know your soulmate?

“I’m sorry, what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You tell him after a beat of silence passes. Both of the monsters in front of you turn to eachother, share a look, then turn back to you.

“HUM- Ahem- Human. Are You Telling Me You Don’t Know What Soulmates Are?” Papyrus asks, as if he’s talking to a child.

“I know what soulmates are. A couple of my friends are soulmates with eachother. But I don’t see what that has to do with me. I mean, I’ve met alternate versions of the two of you before. At least, I think I have. But they’ve never said anything about soulmates before.” You tell them. Sans steps forward to address you.

“they were probably worried about how you’d take it. Not a lot of humans are accepting of monster culture. by telling you, you’d be having talks about soulmates, polyamory and soulbonds thrown your way. it’s the same with every monster-human soulmate bond out there. not saying there’s a ton of them, but i’ve met a guy with the same situation going on and although his soulmate was nice, she couldn’t handle the stress and ran away.” Sans tells you, and his words make you shudder. If you were to get in a relationship with all of the skeletons you’ve met up to this date… What would happen? Would you be able to handle them all? Would you be able to handle even one of them? What if they were like…? No. You know these monsters. At least, you like to think you do. They wouldn’t hurt you. And they would be patient with you. You can handle this.

*You are filled with CALM

“I think I understand now. Why they couldn’t tell me, and… What I need to do. I’m not sure how I’ll deal with all of this. If I’ll even be able to do it. But I definitely need closure and so do all of you. I’m not going to barrel into a relationship with all of you. But I’m not opposed to the idea of multiple soulmates, if that’s what you’re worried about.” You tell the monsters before you and their shoulders sag in relief. Just that action makes you feel better about your decision.

“So let’s eat.” You cheer, then begin diving into your now overcooked hotdogs. The skeletons take twice the portion that you take, but that’s fair. They’re huge and probably need way more food than you do. The night is filled with laughter, cheer and the eventual sound of snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Maybe Next Time
> 
> Happy 5th anniversary, Undertale! Man, it's hard to believe that this game came out five years ago and the community is still going strong.
> 
> Anyway~ we've finally met all of the soulmates in person, all that's left is to get these two boys on animal crossing. Heh, I'm pretty excited! If you have any questions or if you just want to talk, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time!


	22. Maybe Next Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you head towards the lodge

The sound of birds chirping awakens you. The unfamiliar feeling of the ground makes you bolt upright. Oh wait. You’re on your check-up trip to the Lodge. The smell of something cooking confuses you. Did you leave something on the fire last night? Did you leave the fire on last night?!

You race out of your tent, but don’t expect the scene before you at all. Sans and Papyrus? What are they doing here? Why do they look so different? Why are their faces covered with static? Oh wait… Last night comes rushing back to you; getting attacked by Sans, cooking hotdogs, meeting Papyrus, talking about soulmates… Alright. These people aren’t the Sans and Papyrus you’re familiar with, but they are the same people. However that works.

“Hey guys. I thought you went home last night?” You question as you step out of your tent. You throw your arms through your grandpa’s jacket to relieve yourself from the chill in the air.

“WE DID! BUT THEN WE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE HUNGRY, SO WE CAME BACK TO MAKE YOU BREAKFAST!” Papyrus responds and you look into the pot he’s stirring. Looks like spaghetti.

“That’s very thoughtful of you. Where do you guys live, anyway?” You ask. It’s gotta be close if they’re able to get there and back in such a short amount of time.

Sans reaches up and tugs at something behind his static bubble while Papyrus fidgets with his gloves. Did you ask a weird question? It’s only natural to want to know where your friends live, right?

“W-WELL, YOU SEE, WE LIVE IN A CABIN. IT’S ABOUT AN HOUR HIKE FROM HERE.” Papyrus speaks up after a moment. An hour hike… Hm. Your cabins are about an hour from here- oh. Ohhh.

“You guys live in the Cabin Grounds? Isn’t that hard, since, y’know, the utilities are all turned off?” You ask, trying to make the situation less awkward than it currently is. These monsters were in the last, most volatile group. That means they could snap at any moment. You don’t want to trigger them in any way, but you still need answers.

“we make do.” Sans replies. His voice leaves no room for questions. You decide not to push your luck. It’s not like you’d understand the mechanics of it, anyway.

Papyrus sets a plate in front of you, then settles onto an old log directly across from you. He has to scrunch up weirdly to remain eye-level to you and you find yourself sitting straighter to remain within his line of sight. Your plate is filled with spaghetti. Geez, when was the last time you had a good pasta meal? Throwing caution to the wind, you dive right in!

…

Dear Italian Gods, this is good. You immediately scoop up another bite and shovel it into your mouth, the sour zing of fresh tomatoes and the slight spice that comes with bell peppers unfolds in your mouth like some sort of sensual symphony of flavors. You try your best to hold back your moan, you really do. Stars above, how are you going to go back to regular old Spaghetti Factory after this?

“Papyrus, I don’t know who taught you how to cook like this, but give them a smooch for me. They deserve it.” You say once you’ve polished off your second bite of food. Your mind wants you to dive right back in, but your instincts are telling you the skeleton across from you is searching for validation. You happily oblige.

“NYEH HEH! OF COURSE YOU WOULD ENJOY A MEAL COOKED BY THE GREAT MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! BUT, IF YOU WANT TO DELIVER A SMOOCH TO THE ONE WHO TAUGHT ME, SANS IS RIGHT HERE.” Papyrus says, then gestures towards his brother. You look up from your plate and make the mistake of locking eyes with the eerie static bubble covering Sans’ face. Yeah, bad idea. Your soul lurches backwards at the sight of the bubble and you rub your chest to alleviate the pain. Your actions do not go unnoticed.

“so the bond still ain’t complete, eh? didn’t think you’d be into playing hard to get.” Sans murmurs at your reaction. You feel kind of guilty. If these guys really are your soulmates, then they’re probably hurting from the lack of a complete bond. Wait a minute… The words of Spiffy and Cooper fill your mind and a sudden urgency fills your movements.

“Wait! If the bond isn’t completed, can’t you get hurt? And don’t you guys become violent if the bond is hurt?” You stand, the sudden movement giving you whiplash. Your grip on your plate tightens so it doesn’t go flying out of your hands. Food this good shouldn’t be wasted.

“YOU ARE CORRECT, HUMAN! WE WERE LUCKY TO GET SUCH AN EDUCATED MATE! BUT WORRY NOT, BOSS MONSTERS HAVE BETTER CONTROL OF THEIR URGES IN COMPARISON TO REGULAR MONSTERS. WE’LL BE ABLE TO HAVE AN INCOMPLETE BOND FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE ANYTHING SERIOUS HAPPENS.” Papyrus explains, trying to calm you down, but his words just fill you with more panic. What if you can’t complete the bond in time? What if you’ve started the bonds with the other Papyrus’ and Sans’ you’ve met and their bonds are already damaged? You glance around, cautious of any crazy looking skeletons that might try to kidnap and drug you.

Seeing none, you return to the rest of Papyrus’ explanation. You’ve heard of Boss Monsters from a few friends. Muffet used to be one and the kings and queens of the underground were definitely Boss Monsters. That leaves a huge gap in-between for who could be a boss monster. You have no reason to believe Papyrus is lying about the two of them being boss monsters. Even so, it seems a bit far-fetched for a single person to have up to ten Boss Monster soulmates.

“That’s… Awfully convenient. Is there any way you can back up your claim?” You ask. It’s not that you don’t believe them. You’ve just been deceived before. You’re not about to fall for sweet words again just to inflate your ego.

“OF COURSE, HUMAN! IF OUR BOND WAS COMPLETE, WE COULD TAKE YOUR SOUL OUT AND SHOW YOU THE STRING TYING US TOGETHER. UNFORTUNATELY, YOUR END OF THE BOND IS STILL OPEN SO WE’LL HAVE TO WAIT. UNLESS YOU WANT US TO GET ONE OF THE OTHERS?” Papyrus suggests, but the way he wrings his hands nervously makes you think he’d rather not. You weigh your options for a moment before deciding on the best course of action.

“Nah, it can wait. For now, I need to check the rest of my facilities. I didn’t get to the lodge yesterday so that’s where I’m heading. If you guys wanna come with me I won’t stop you.” You tell them with a gentle smile. Before you know what’s happening, the three of you are stumbling down the gravel road that goes to your Lodge’s Parking Lot.

On the way there, you ask your companions about themselves. Papyrus’ favorite food is, surprisingly, ice cream. Sans mentions liking burgers but he’s fine with anything. They both enjoy stargazing and you almost offer to take them to your favorite spot before realizing that might be a bit too forward. Sans talks about the different trees surrounding you; he mentions how the bark in the trees underground became poisonous once the famine started. You shudder at the thought. Papyrus shifts the topic to the different flora surrounding you; he wants to learn more about them and see if he can concoct a meal out of them. You point out a few edible plants off the top of your head.

They ask about you and your job. You tell them about your place in the greenhouse and all of the pretty plants there. The vegetables in the place are used in most of the meals on the campus and none of it ever goes to waste. Papyrus lights up at the mention of your job and states he might want to do something similar one day.

Before long, the Lodge’s intimidating form comes into view and you shudder a bit. You can never get over how big it is and just looking at the roof sends a flood of memories coursing through you.

The first floor is a simple living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. A strangely placed staircase leads to the second floor; where lodgers all stay. The second floor consists of eight medium sized rooms, a library/study and a bathroom. Another staircase leads to the third floor. Your grandparents’ room, your room, another bathroom and your grandpa’s private study are up there. After years of begging, you managed to convince your grandparents to move you into your grandpa’s study and change your old room into a game room.

You wonder how the lodge is holding up. It’s been almost two years since you’ve stepped foot inside… Maybe this time you can work up the nerve to… No. Not now. You shake the thoughts away and turn towards the Parking Lot in front of you. It’s just as empty as last time. You work up the nerve to go up to the cement awning. Everything seems to be in order and you circle the little 20x20 slice of land to see if anything is out of place.

Seeing nothing, you turn back to your companions to see them turned towards the Lodge. It looks so foreboding and lonely. Like it’ll fall at any moment. Your heart wrenches at the thought and you steel your nerves before taking off towards your old dwelling. You don't get very far before the sound of a running motor stops you in your tracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: An Explanation
> 
> Hehe I've been waiting for this~ If you want to ask me any questions or just talk, feel free to reach out on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time!


	23. An Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some things are discussed

You look to the horizon, befuddled by what you’re hearing. A car? Didn’t you lock the gates before you headed inside? You look to your companions in confusion, but all you get is a small whispered curse from Sans.

You wait in your spot for the car to appear on the horizon. A red convertible. It looks way too familiar. Papyrus?

Sure enough, the convertible is Papyrus’. Same CoolDude license plate, same grinning skull, same everything. You glance at the Papyrus you’ve spent the past few hours with, but you can’t see his face so you can’t tell what he’s thinking. By the way his fists are curled, you’re pretty sure he’s not happy.

Before you can question it, Sans pulls you into an incredibly tight embrace. You almost choke from the tightness of it, but after a moment of struggling, you realize he’s not trying to do anything other than maybe threaten. Why would he need to do that?

You don’t get an answer to your question as the Papyrus you’re familiar with steps out of his car, grin noticeably smaller and eyelights locked on you. You can see how this could be an awkward situation to walk (drive?) into. 

“heya papyrus. what brings you home from the embassy so early?” Sans asks, his hold tightening just the smallest amount. You frown a bit when you feel the nicks in his phalanges rub across your throat. Guess it would make sense he has a few scars. He did come from a pretty scary underground… Even so, it doesn’t sit well with you that any of your friends would have scars.

“MARS. I HAD A SINKING FEELING SO I DECIDED TO COME HOME FROM OUR THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EARLY. IT SEEMS A GOOD THING I DID. Y/N, ARE YOU HURT?” Papyrus questions, the concern at the end of his stiff statement giving you whiplash. Is he angry or is he concerned? You decide he’s probably both.

“I’m fine, Papyrus. Though, I’m confused on why you’re here. I kind of thought it was only these two wandering around my property.” You say offhandedly. You aren’t peeved that he’s here. Just kind of confused. Do all of the skeletons live around your lodge? Man, you’re kinda terrible at keeping squatters off of your land.

“OH! Y/N! THIS IS YOUR PROPERTY? I KNEW SOMETHING WAS FAMILIAR ABOUT YOU.” Papyrus says, his eyelights sparkling from excitement. The light quickly extinguishes and is replaced with nervousness. “AH, UM, SORRY ABOUT SQUATTING ON YOUR LAND. SANS THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE BEST PLACE FOR US AND I COULDN’T JUST LEAVE HIM.” Papyrus explains. You could believe that.

“I believe you. Though, we’ll probably have to talk about it when I’m not in a choke hold.” You tell him, gesturing to Sans’ arm, still wrapped snugly across your collar. His touch is oddly warm, but your lack of a complete bond makes you want to bolt. Your soul flutters and tenses, much like a mouse caught by a cat.

“AH, YES. I CAN SEE HOW THAT MIGHT PREVENT YOU FROM MAKING CONVERSATION. LET GO OF THE HUMAN, MARS.” Papyrus tells the skeleton behind you. His stern voice is apparently enough to make the Sans above you listen and he lets his grip around your throat slip, but settles his hand on your shoulder to ensure you won’t escape.

“WHY DON’T WE HEAD INSIDE TO DISCUSS… THINGS.” Papyrus suggests, gesturing to the Lodge. Your knees lock up at the thought of entering. You can still smell the smoke in the back of your lungs when you think of what happened that fateful day. You won’t enter the Lodge unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“I’m fine with talking out here. It’s, uh, it’s a nice day out.” You decide to use the fresh air as your excuse. The skeletons around you clearly recognize your discomfort if the way Sans rubs your shoulder and Papyrus’ pitying looks are anything to go by.

“ALRIGHT, Y/N. THERE ARE SOME LOGS OVER THERE, WHY DON’T YOU TAKE A SEAT?” Papyrus suggests and you’re gently led to the aforementioned logs. You settle down on one of them and the others gather around you; Sans on your left, his Papyrus on your right and the Papyrus whose face you can see across from you.

“I SHALL START, AS IT SEEMS YOU WILL NEED SOME EXPLANATIONS.” The Papyrus across from you speaks up once your group is settled comfortably. “IT WAS AROUND TWO YEARS AGO, JUST A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER THE LAST MONSTERS WERE LET OUT OF THE UNDERGROUND. MY BROTHER GATHERED ALL OF THE SANS AND PAPYRUS MONSTERS FOR A PROJECT TO ENSURE WE WOULD NOT RETURN TO THE UNDERGROUND.”

You listen carefully as Papyrus continues with his story, not wanting to miss a single second of it. However, when he mentions the Lodge, you feel something heavy settle deep in your gut. Perhaps it is fear. Perhaps it is guilt. You can’t be sure. “WE DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO HOUSE ALL TEN OF US, SO SANS CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO COME HERE, TO THE MOST HOSPITABLE HUMANS WE HAD MET. YOU AND WHO I ASSUME WERE YOUR GRANDPARENTS WERE QUITE KIND AND PATIENT, SANS THOUGHT HE COULD PERSUADE YOU TO RENT OUT THE LODGE TO US.

“WHEN WE GOT HERE, THERE WAS NOTHING BUT COVERED FURNITURE AND THREADBARE SHEETS IN EACH ROOM. WE THOUGHT THE WORST HAD HAPPENED WHEN WE WENT DOWN TO THE BASEMENT TO SEE…” Papyrus trails off at the pained whimper you let out. You don’t want to remember. You don’t want to know what he saw. It feels like you’re suffocating. If he says another word, you’re sure you’ll drown. You wrap your grandpa's coat tighter around yourself and breath in, trying your best to keep your emotions under control.

Even with all of the calm in the world, you can’t help the silent tears that slip down your cheeks. Gloved hands reach out and cup your face and you feel a sense of familiarity rush through you as the thumbs of the covered hands brush your tears away. You let out a weak chuckle as you reach up and grip them, gently rubbing your fingers over the coarse fabric.

“I know what you found down there. You don’t have to tell me… You can… Continue the story.” You mumble after a few more moments of silence. You keep your grip on Papyrus’ hands, gently caressing them to keep your own from shaking.

“Right… Well… After That Revelation, We Decided To Look And See If The Owners Of The Lodge Were Still Around, Just In Case. All Of Us Came Back Empty-Handed, So We Decided It Would Be Fine To Just Move In… It Sounds Kind Of Wrong When I Put It Like That, But That’s What Happened.” Papyrus finishes his story with a little shrug and you breathe out a long sigh, before looking up to your friend gratefully.

“Thank you for telling me this. It was probably hard to admit to doing something like this. I’ll admit, this wasn’t how I was expecting my weekend to go, but… It’s better to find out now than later.” You say with a gentle smile. Papyrus gives you a bright look, clearly glad you’re not shouting at him for taking over your land. You take a few moments to process everything before standing up from your log to begin pacing.

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am having near strangers living in my Grandparent’s lodge, though. It doesn’t feel right and… There’s a lot going on in there. There were still repairs to be made when I left, not to mention all of the personal belongings I left behind.” You ramble, trying to get your thoughts out before you can lose the nerve to say them. Papyrus flinches and looks like he’s about to offer to move out, but you’re quick to speak up again.

“Even so, I don’t want to force you guys out. You’ve been there for nearly two years now and it wouldn’t be right to force someone out of their home. So maybe… We can set something up. I still want to keep ownership of the Lodge and its land, but maybe I can rent it out to you guys?” You suggest, your words getting quieter the longer you talk. You’re not entirely sure what else to say so you look at the skeletons in front of you for approval. Since you can only make out Papyrus’ face, you stare at him. He just gives you a shocked expression.

“Y/N THAT IS INCREDIBLY KIND OF YOU. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS NOT MY CALL TO MAKE. I ALSO FEEL WE DESERVE SOME SORT OF REPERCUSSIONS, FOR ENTERING YOUR HOME AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOU WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE.” Papyrus tells you, a little scoldingly. You’ve never been good with confrontations and trying to punish up to ten skeletons for squatting in your lodge just feels kind of wrong. A small voice in the back of your head says that Papyrus is being completely sensible and that you should take this opportunity to gather more information.

“Right… Well, until the rest of you guys show up, I can’t really decide on anything. Until then… I suppose we can check up on the Lodge. Even if you guys have been keeping it well-maintained since moving in, I won’t feel satisfied until I see it with my own eyes.” You tell them, but the wrench in your gut tells you to avoid the place you grew up in. You’re torn between going and just staying out here and conversing with the three pleasant skeletons in front of you. Unfortunately, you know what you have to do.

It’s finally time to go to the Lodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Reminisce
> 
> If you wanna reach out to me or offer any suggestions, you can talk to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint). 'Till next time~


	24. Reminisce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you remember some of the past.

It doesn’t take long to walk from the Lodge’s parking lot to its front door. You glance up at your old home, its looming figure so familiar yet so… different.

You tug your grandpa’s jacket closer around yourself to fight off a shiver before circling around the back of the building. There’s a wooden fence around the entire Lodge to keep kids away from the forest. It was installed when you sleep walked away from the Lodge one night and ended up lost in the forest. It took almost all day for your grandparents and the forest’s ranger to find you, even if you kept in one place like you’d been told to do if you ever got lost.

You push the chipped gate open and enter what could be considered a ‘backyard’; it's a lot bigger than your run of the mill backyard and even has a small river running through the middle of it. On one side of the yard is a large willow tree with an old stone bench under its leaves. On the other side of the river is a large shed and a decrepit garden. Your grandma used to take care of it and often cooked her meals with the vegetables and fruit from it.

You aren’t sure why, but you’re kind of relieved the place hasn’t been touched. At the same time, you want to plow through the weeds until they’re all gone then maybe put some fresh flowers in the ground.

“We Didn’t Want To Mess With Anything In Case You Came Back, So Most Of The Lodge Is The Same As The Day We Moved In. There Were Some Minor Repairs That Had To Be Made, But They’re Hardly Noticeable.” Papyrus tells you in a slow, coaxing voice. You get the feeling he’s being careful for your sake. 

“Thanks, Papyrus. And the rest of you… Heh, I used to sit under that tree all the time. It was good for studying.” You mention as you point to the stone bench under the willow tree. The monsters all stare at the object you’re pointing at like they don’t know what to say. You don’t really expect a reply so you move on towards the garden.

All of the plants in the garden are either dead or close to dying. You have a feeling the skeletons might have tried to grow their own plants at some point in time but all failed. There’s only one plant that looks healthy; the Peony bush in the far corner of the garden. Memories of Sans asking you how to grow them flash through your mind, making you smile.

You wander around the garden, unsure of whether to upturn the old plants or not. Eventually, the gardener in you decides to start uprooting the old plants.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT, Y/N. WE COULD HAVE HANDLED IT.” Papyrus shouts as you get on your knees to start pulling out the decrepit plants.

“It’s fine, Papy. It’s calming for me. You should try to pull some out, too! Real satisfying when you pull out the plant and all of its roots.” You tell him, then demonstrate your point by popping an entire plant from the ground.

The taller skeletons in front of you seem interested and lean down to grip their own dead plants. You go up behind the Papyrus whose face you can’t see to watch him work but are caught off guard when he puts too much force behind his tug and topples backwards, right into your knees. You stumble back a little but manage to right yourself and the skeleton, who’s now gripping your legs with an iron hold.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’re good now.” You mumble to the skeleton, who slowly lowers his hands. You pat the back of his skull in a calming manner and look down, attempting to give him a reassuring smile. When your eyes catch the static bubble, you freeze. Geez, this thing is getting annoying. You’re gonna need to find a way to get rid of it soon.

“YOU WERE RIGHT, Y/N. THIS IS SURPRISINGLY SATISFYING!” Papyrus shouts after a moment and you look up to observe his work. He’s already got a whole quarter of the garden upturned.

“Great job, Papyrus. But we don’t need to finish the whole thing in just one day. Gardens require a lot of love, patience and dedication.” You tell him, then hoist the Papyrus in front of you to his feet. You feel like he’s giving you a look, but you can’t tell what type of look it might be.

“Anyway… Do you have any clue how to get rid of these static bubbles? I wanna see who I’ve been talking to for the past two days.” You tell Papyrus, mostly because you can see his face. If his face is clear, that means he might know how to get rid of the static!

“WELL, HUMAN… I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO TELL YOU. I FELT YOUR PART OF THE BOND JUST START ONE DAY, COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BLUE. ANYTHING COULD BE THE TRIGGER. THE ONLY SURE WAY TO FIGURE IT OUT WOULD BE… UM… THAT THING.” Papyrus trails off, a bright orange blush crossing his cheekbones. You tilt your head in question and wait for him to elaborate further.

“he means he’s gotta pull your soul out, pumpkin.” Sans speaks up after being quiet for so long. You look at your chest, where your soul usually resides and aren’t sure what to think of the predicament. It would be the only way to prove that these people are your soulmates and you really want to figure out how to get rid of the static bubbles over these guys’ faces, but souls are a private thing. You don’t want to reveal yourself to these people on a simple whim.

“Oh… Well, is there a way to take my soul out that isn’t… Intimate? We could do a spar or something, that might be enough! That way it isn’t a violent encounter and it isn’t super intimate. Just… Friendly, I guess.” You suggest, remembering the friendly encounters you would get into with Cooper.

“WHAT A LOVELY IDEA, Y/N. IF YOU WOULD STAND OVER THERE, WE CAN GET THE ENCOUNTER STARTED.” Papyrus points to a spot clear of plants and you go to where he directs you. On the way over, you shake out your shoulders and clear your mind of negative thoughts. This is just for fun… Nothing else.

The world fades to black and you’re left staring at your teal soul. It twirls slowly with the positive emotions you’re experiencing and you giggle a bit when it hops in place. You feel a slight tug and look at where it’s coming from, only to see a thin red string going straight for Papyrus. Is that what you’re supposed to be looking for? Is that your bond?

“I’LL LET YOU HAVE THE FIRST MOVE.” Papyrus tells you, then passes his turn to you. The thing about friendly encounters is, the person who starts the encounter usually has the right to the first move. Other things to note is that you can’t kill people in a Friendly Encounter and it’s a better way to get to know someone than if you were to simply talk it out.

Y/N LV1 HP(30/30)  
* ~~Fight~~ *Act *Item *Mercy

*Check * ~~Reminisce~~  
*Talk *Defend  
*Flirt *Insult

You choose to Check your friend, hoping to find out more about his thoughts on this whole thing.

*Papyrus 8ATK 2DEF

*He Thinks You’re Cute When You’re Confused  
*Wants To Make Spaghetti With You

Well, you certainly found out some thoughts. You brush your knuckle against your cheek in an attempt to hide your blush, but your soul is still spinning happily, giving you away.

Papyrus uses his own turn to test out your reflexes, sending a few white bones your way. They’re a bit easier to dodge than the ones that Sans threw at you the day before, but you still try your hardest to dodge the attacks.

It’s your turn again and you wonder what sort of action you should take, before settling on just talking to him.

*Act

*Talk

*You Tell Papyrus That You’d Be Happy To Make Spaghetti With Him Sometime  
*Papyrus Squeals And Happily Claps His Hands Together

So, that’s not the question you were going for. You’ll have to try again next turn. This time around, Papyrus chooses to Act and Talk to you as well.

*Papyrus Asks Your Opinion On Mettaton  
*You Tell Him You’ve Only Seen A Couple Of His Films, But You’d Be Happy To Watch More Sometime

Your turn comes again and you quickly reach for the Talk button. Unfortunately, your hand slips and you end up flirting.

*Act

*Flirt

*You Tell Papyrus his hand looks heavy and you’d be willing to hold it for him  
*You cringe at your own terrible pick-up line

Papyrus blushes, but picks up the pace with his own Actions, Flirting right back at you.

*Papyrus Says He Lost His Number And Asks If He Could Have Yours  
*The Two Of You Pause The Encounter So You Can Exchange Numbers

*...

*Encounter, Resume!

You giggle at the absurdity of the encounter, before you remember what you’re here for. You need to figure out if this guy’s actually your soulmate or not! Okay, get your head in the game.

*Act

*Talk

*You Ask Papyrus How To Tell When You’re Someone’s Soulmate  
*Papyrus Fidgets And Looks At The String Connecting The Two Of You

It’s Papyrus’ turn and it looks like he’s contemplating what to do. Finally, he seems to come to a decision and reaches out to the string that’s still connecting the two of you. As soon as his gloved hand comes in contact with the string, a shock goes through you and memories flood your system.

*Reminisce

You recall the day you met Peony on Animal Crossing, how his brother came over and played with you, taking you around the Museum and playing games with you until you had to go to sleep. Then, about a week later, you met Papyrus at Muffet’s new shop. He was a little stiff at first, but after you offered him your creampuff, he lightened up and the two of you had a nice afternoon together.

You crumple to your knees as a sick feeling overwhelms you and you clutch your chest as the memories begin to flood in. It’s too much all at once, meeting Edge at Grillby’s restaurant; running into Rus at the grocery store; escaping from Stretch at Muffet’s store. Then there’s a whole lot of animal crossing.

“Y/N! ARE YOU OKAY?” Papyrus’ worried voice snaps you out of the memories and brings you back to earth. Right, you aren’t in any of those situations right now… You’re here, at your Grandparents’ Lodge, with Papyrus and two people whose faces you can’t see.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting… all of that.” You rub your chest to ease the pain still thrumming under your skin and look around to see colors and shapes again. You suppose the Encounter is over.

“WHAT WAS IT LIKE, HUMAN? DID YOU FIND OUT WHAT CONNECTS YOU TO US?” The other Papyrus asks and you think over what you’d seen before nodding your head.

“Yeah, I think it has something to do with animal crossing…” Papyrus lights up at your words and happily clasps your hands in his own. You can see the lights in his eyes at this proximity and they look almost like stars. He blinks and the stars are gone. Maybe you were imagining things.

“SO IT REALLY WAS YOU! I HAD AN INKLING MY SOULMATE MIGHT BE CONNECTED TO THE MYSTERIOUS ISLANDER WHO SUDDENLY POPPED UP IN OUR LIVES.” He sings and your mind spins with the new information. If your memories are anything to go off of, Papyrus is actually Clementine. The revelation isn’t as earth-shattering as you thought it would be.

“Heh, yep. That’s me. And that makes you Clementine, right? It’s fitting.” You tell Papyrus with a gentle smile. A tangerine blush crosses his cheek bones and he ‘Nyeh heh’s before nodding his agreement.

“HOW ARE WE GOING TO CONNECT TO THEM THROUGH ANIMAL CROSSING IF WE DON’T HAVE THE GAME?” The other Papyrus questions and you feel your soul lurch at his words. No animal crossing? That can’t be right…  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… You’re telling me you guys don’t play animal crossing?” The two skeletons lift their shoulders in a shrug and you feel your soul waver violently.

“I think this fact is causing me cosmic damage. Papyrus, you gotta get them games. Stat.” You tell the Papyrus whose face you can see. He gives you a worried look before glancing down to your chest, causing his eye sockets to widen until you can see the little white lights floating in them.

“HUMAN! YOUR SOUL-” He’s cut off by you stumbling. He catches you and you let out a little wheeze, your chest tightening painfully.

“Okay, I don’t think this is a joke anymore. I’m literally in pain, oh wow. Um… Er, I think it’d be best if we headed inside. Please avoid the basement.” You plead in the calmest voice you can muster. Your soul shakes at the mention of the basement, but you try your best to keep the pain off your face. Sans steps forward to try and help you out, but his approach has your soul pounding even harsher and he draws back.

“HUMAN, THIS IS STRANGE BEHAVIOUR, EVEN FOR A HUMAN SOUL. I’VE NEVER SEEN ONE REACT SO HARSHLY AT BEING UNABLE TO COMPLETE A BOND. AND YOUR HP… IT SEEMS TO BE DWINDLING.” Papyrus says as he leads you towards the back door to where the kitchen is. You shakily stumble into the familiar threshold and grip the counter beside you. The setting puts your mind at ease as you glance around and find the place much the same as you left it except a few new pots, pans and perhaps a scorch mark or two on the wall above the stove.

You pull your grandpa’s coat around your shoulders, your grip making your knuckles white. Papyrus gently settles you onto the counter and looks your panicking form over for any sign of injury. When his eyelights land on your chest, his brows furrow and you swear you hear bones rattling.

“I Can’t Find Out What’s Wrong. Your Soul Is Blocking Out All Of My Advances. Could You Try To Calm Down A Bit?” He asks and you nod before cautiously taking in a few deep breaths. Your eyes lock on a picture of the night sky hanging on the wall in front of you and you use it as an anchor; taking a few moments to note all of the little aspects in the portrait.

“Okay… I think I’m a little better now. Can you try again?” You ask Papyrus and he nods, then looks at your chest. For a moment, everything is silent. Then a gasp escapes Papyrus’ skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Painful Memories
> 
> In honor of my favorite month (and birthday month), I've decided to make a special chapter that will be uploaded on Halloween! It's pretty long and non-canon, so it'll get it's own part in the series, but I'm super excited to see your reactions!
> 
> As always, if you have any suggestions of questions, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time~


	25. Painful Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you tour the house

“What? What is it, Papyrus?” You ask as your friend backs up a couple steps. He gestures at your chest, then looks away when you don’t understand what he’s trying to get at.

“Human, Your Soul Is Tearing Itself Apart Between Trying To Bond With Jupiter And Mars And Staying As Far Away From Them As Possible.” he states after a while and you cautiously nod your head. Obviously, you have no idea what he’s talking about, but maybe if you nod along, he’ll elaborate further.

“It’s Practically The Exact Opposite Of What Happens To Monsters! You See, When Monsters Can’t Find Their Soulmates After Starting A Bond, They Become Aggressive And Do Everything In Their Power To Find Them And Complete The Bond.” Now this is information you already know, so the opposite reaction would be… 

“You, Human, Are Actively Trying To Get Away From Your Mates. Perhaps It Is Because The Bond Is Incomplete, But The Fact You Were Mostly Okay With Their Presence Up Until A Few Minutes Ago Means Something Triggered You.” Papyrus elaborates and you have a feeling you know exactly what set you off.

“It might have to do with the fact they don’t have animal crossing. After all, that’s apparently the trigger I need to make a full connection and if they don’t have it, it would make sense if I didn’t want anything to do with them until they got the game. It’s like… When your friend promises to bring drinks over, but they don’t and you just get mad and kick them out. That sort of thing, but more extreme.” You ramble, trying to wrap your head around the logistics of this whole ordeal. It’s not like you’re some sort of Soul expert, but you get the gist.

“Yes, That Seems About Right. I Suppose The Best Course Of Action Would Be Getting Them The Game. You Don’t Mind If I Leave You For A Bit, Right? I Need To Go Talk To The Two About What’s Going On.” Papyrus says, then gestures outside. You decide not to turn and look in case your soul begins tearing itself up again. You give Papyrus a curt nod and he gently pats your head before going back through the door.

You look around the room for a while, trying to see how different it is from the last time you were here. All of the utensils are new and there are definitely scorch marks above the stove. Otherwise, all of the pictures that were left behind are still up and even look freshly cleaned.

You peer to the right, where you know the bathroom is and wonder if there might be medicine in there to help with heartburn. Then again, this is a soul problem, not a heart problem, so medicine probably won’t help.

To your far left-front is the door that leads to the dining room. There used to be quite a few family portraits hanging in the room, along with framed dried flowers. You took down all of the family pictures in the house and put them in a box in your old room, which would explain why Papyrus and the others didn't immediately recognize you when they were finally able to see you.

You wander through the dining room and your eyes catch on an old phonograph pushed into the far end of the room. It takes a while to get from the kitchen to the end of the table, but your efforts are rewarded when you reach the vinyl player and find an old favorite of yours already placed on the turntable.

It’s almost eerie as the first few notes crackle out of the old machine, but you ignore the feeling in favor of moving on to the living room. You peek out of the dining room, cautious as you glance about. You can’t see the door that leads to the basement thanks to the poorly placed staircase, which fills you with more relief than you thought possible. From experience, you know that the half of the living room not in your line of sight has a large couch, recliner and a very large TV.

Directly in front of the staircase is the front door; a thin table set up beside it with a vase filled with flowers atop it. The look might’ve been awkward if there weren’t a half wall to press the table against. On the other side of the half wall, you can see the black leather of the couch pressed against it.

You swallow your nerves down and avert your gaze to the floor as you dart for the staircase. You don’t bother to look up until you reach the second landing, which takes longer than you remember to get to. The apartment you share with Coco is so much smaller than the Lodge, you wonder how you ever got comfortable with either place of dwelling.

The second floor is where all of the lodgers stay, which means it has a lot of rooms that you have very few memories of, since you would only stay on the second floor for the large study. It feels a little cramped, but spacious at the same time, perhaps because there is nothing cluttering the thin hallways. To your right is a small square window. To your left is everything else on the second floor.

There are seven rooms ahead of you and to the left. At the end of the long hallway and to the right is a bathroom. To your direct left is the staircase to the third floor and beside that is another bathroom. You’re tempted to just curl up in the library-like room at the end of the hallway, but the promise of your old room's comfort is too tempting to pass up.

You turn and walk up the stairs to the third floor, where your room, your grandparents’ room and the game room is. Directly in front of the staircase is the game room. You dumped most of your boxes in there when you left, but you have no doubt that it was cleared out and is now being used for its original purpose. Your reasoning? The door is wide open and you can clearly see the large, comfortable couch completely free of the boxes you had left upon it.

Across from the game room is the bathroom, which connects to your own room. You have a feeling your room used to be the master bedroom, but that changed at some point in time. Next to the game room and across from yours is your grandparents’ room.

You stare at the door for a long time. The knots in the wooden door stare back for just as long. You let out a sigh and grip the knob, then press forward.

While the entire rest of the house is decorated in dark browns, blacks and reds, your grandparents’ room is quite bright and almost ethereal with green draperies and crisp white sheets. Across the right wall is a collection of their best pictures, of which you didn’t have the resolve to take down. Even though everyone thinks they’re gone, something in your soul just refuses to accept it. You glance at the wooden chest at the foot of their queen sized bed but force your eyes away after only a moment. Now isn’t the time to be dredging up old memories.

You settle on their bed and kick off your boots before curling into the slightly musty comforter. Unlike the rest of the lodge, this room seems to have been left to collect dust, which is fine by you. The blanket settled over your legs still smells like mint and morning dew. After so long wandering around a house filled with memories, you finally crack. A silent tear trails down your cheek. Then another. You sniffle and burrow further under the sheets, soaking up as much warmth and comfort as possible. Alone. You feel so alone.

You don’t even notice that you fell asleep until someone shakes you from behind. That’s a BIG no-no! You immediately shove the hands away and curl up on yourself, trying to get as far from the grasping hands as possible. You hear a stumble, but don’t look back until you’re on the exact opposite side of the bed from your previous position.

Your eyes meet the regretful sockets of Papyrus and you sink a bit further into the bedding to avoid his gaze. “Sorry, I have a hard time being woken up like that. Um… You could probably just say my name next time.” You tell him after a few uncomfortable seconds. Papyrus nods his agreement and stands off to the side as you slide out of the bed.

“The Others Will Be Coming Back In A Bit. Are You Hungry? It’s A Bit After Lunch But I Can Pull Out Leftovers If You’d Like.” Papyrus offers, his voice noticeably softer. You suppose he’s still a little hurt from you scrambling away from him like he was some kind of villain.

“That would be nice. I wanna apologize for hurting you just a second ago. There aren’t a lot of people who can get away with waking me up like that.” You tell him, and a look of recognition crosses his features. He gives you a kind smile and gently holds his hand out for you to take. He isn’t wearing gloves anymore, which gives you the opportunity to look over the fused bones.You don’t quite comprehend how they work, but you do know that you need some physical contact right about now. You reach out and gently take his outstretched hand, which makes his smile curl wider.

“Your bones are very pretty. They remind me of daisies under moonlight.” You say as Papyrus leads you out of the room and towards the staircase. Too focused on the ivory entwined with your flesh, you don’t see the tangerine flush crossing Papyrus’ cheeks.

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY SOME OF MY SPAGHETTI?” He blurts as you reach the second landing. You glance up from your hands to look him in the eyes before nodding excitedly.

“Yeah! That would be great!” Papyrus brightens up at your agreement and picks up the pace, dragging you all the way to the dining room before breaking his hold and dashing into the kitchen. You watch him go, then glance at the phonograph still playing the vinyl you had started earlier. You suppose your nap didn’t last as long as you thought it did. Or maybe the record is longer than you remember?

Papyrus comes back in with two plates on his arms just as you slide the record into its case. Setting the plastic down, you meet Papyrus halfway and sit across from him, eagerly awaiting the steaming dish in his hands.

“BONE APPETIT!” He exclaims, then sets the dish before you. It looks like how spaghetti should look, except you’re pretty sure spaghetti doesn’t make sloshing sounds even after it’s stopped moving. You pick up the fork and decide to just try it out, not wanting to hurt Papyrus’ feelings by rejecting his food straight off the plate.

…

It’s certainly a dish. You can taste… something, almost like tomatoes, but not quite. Perhaps it’s some sort of monster food? You chew a bit more and find that the texture springs back against your teeth, which is a strange sensation that you’ve only ever experienced with chewy candies. Deciding it isn’t worth the time to try and decompose the food, you simply swallow the slightly springy, salty, watery food.

Papyrus is looking at you with anticipation and you really can’t make yourself say the truth. Instead, you settle for a thumbs up, then dive into the next mouthful. At least it doesn’t taste horrible. You don’t know if you could stomach something that tastes and feels terrible going down.

“That was… out of this world, Papyrus. I’m impressed that you managed to create such a dish.” Impressed is certainly the word you’re going for; what else could you be after eating such a strange pasta? You swear the noodles are still springing around in your stomach.

“SINCE COMING TO THE SURFACE, MY REPERTOIRE HAS INCREASED WHEN IT COMES TO THE CULINARY ARTS! I CAN NOW CREATE DISHES THAT DO NOT FREEZE OVER WHEN PUT INTO EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES!” He looks proud of himself, and you feel he has the right to be. He did create a pasta dish that generates its own kinetic and thermal energy, even if it’s at the cost of it’s chewability.

Before you can say anything else, the sound of the door creaking open stops you in your tracks. Your immediate thought is that it’s your grandpa coming home from work, but you shake the thought away just as quickly as it comes. He isn’t here.

“paps, we’re home. now, what’s the emergency?” A familiar baritone rumbles from the living room. You’re tempted to go over and check, being the technical owner of the house, but at the same time you’re scared.

You’re scared of what’s going to happen once you have definitive proof that the friend’s you’ve made over the last month or two have been squatting in your grandparents’ lodge. You’re scared of what they’ll think when you explain that you’re not comfortable having them here. You’re scared of the basement.

The sound of your name being called snaps you out of your stupor and you look up to meet the small sockets of Papyrus. His brows are scrunched up in concern and he has his hand outstretched, as if to touch you. You offer him a gentle smile, then turn to look at the doorway, where Sans is now standing. By the sound of it, there are quite a few people just behind him, but you can’t make out what they’re saying or where they are.

“Ah, hey Sans.” You say to break the awkward silence spreading across the room. He blinks. Then blinks again. You look him over in the meantime, surprised to find him in a casual navy blue jacket and workout shorts. His usual work outfits are pretty casual as well, but you feel like this reaches a whole new level.

“what- y/n? what are you doin’ here?” He questions after the moment of silence passes.

“This is my grandparents’ lodge. I came here to make sure everything was still in order, but…” You trail off and look towards Papyrus for help explaining. He shares your unsure look before standing up and pacing towards his brother.

“Sans, It Appears Y/n Is Not Entirely Comfortable Having Us Live Here. They Are Willing To Work Out A Compromise, But We Should Respect Their Wishes If They Decide It’s Too Much For Us To Stay In The Lodge.” Papyrus tells Sans carefully, then glances at you for affirmation. You nod your head slowly, then decide that sitting all alone at the table is a bit too uncomfortable for you and ask Papyrus to bring the others inside so you can talk to them as well.

You’re not sure what you expected when you found out how many people were living on your Grandparents’ property, but seeing eight skeletons nervously fidget in their seats can sure put some things in perspective. Namely; how are you going to tell all of them you don’t necessarily want them living here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Re-Introduction
> 
> So~ Next chapter, I plan on starting up the 'Punishment' Papyrus was talking about two chapters ago. If you guys have any suggestions for that, I would love to hear them!
> 
> If you guys have any suggestions or questions, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time!


	26. Re-Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which you get a better look at your soulmates.

“I guess we should start with some introductions since I don’t entirely remember all of you. I’m y/n l/n, owner of this lodge and apparently your soulmate.” You start which gets a few awkward chuckles. They all look like they’ve been scolded and you aren’t sure why.

“sans the skeleton, technical leader of this skeleton crew. papyrus and i were in the first group to escape the underground.” Sans introduces himself, then points to the Papyrus you’ve been hanging out with today. You look them both over and try to take in as many of their attributes as you can. Their skulls are pearly and scratch-free. Sans is wearing a comfortable navy jacket, black basketball shorts with white stripes and fuzzy pink slippers that you suspect he changed into after entering the house. Papyrus is wearing a pleasant white turtleneck, black skinny jeans and red boots, his usual red gloves having been taken off sometime before he woke you up earlier.

You feel safe in their presence, despite the slight pang of betrayal and confusion that makes itself known thanks to the current situation you are in. You’ve known them the longest and have met with them more frequently than with anyone else here.

“PAPY- ER, STRETCH AND I CAME NEXT, IN WHAT THE MONSTERS CALL THE SWAP CLAN.” Blue is the next to speak up as he gestures to himself then his brother. He’s wearing a white dress shirt with a blue vest and bow tie that compliment his cyan eyelights and a nice pair of black slacks. It’s only now that you notice the more rambunctious of the group are dressed up quite nicely, as if they came from a party. Stretch, meanwhile, is decked out in the same orange sweater you last saw him in and a pair of green cargo shorts. You get the mental image of a carrot when you look at him for too long.

There’s a bit of a strain when you look at Blue, but something tells you the feeling will pass. Stretch feels like an old friend in a way, someone you can talk to but that you shouldn’t immediately trust. Your soul wavers.

“think you remember me sweetheart. but just as a little reminder, m’ name’s red and my bro’s name is edge.” Red tells you with a well-timed wink. You almost blush. Almost. He looks quite dashing in his plush black parka and maroon turtleneck, black sweat pants with yellow highlights covering his legs. You tear your eyes away from him and turn to Edge, who proves to be twice as hard to look away from. He’s wearing a luxurious black and red three piece suit and it takes everything in you to keep from gaping.

“AND ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT NOT REMEMBER US, MY NAME IS BLACK AND THIS IS MY BROTHER, RUS.” A skeleton who looks a lot like a mix between Red and Blue speaks up. He’s decked out in what you recognize as a royal guard uniform from the SwapFell clan. It’s completely black except for the occasional purple accent, which helps bring out his striking lavender eyes. His brother has a comfy looking bomber style jacket that looks comically small on his tall frame. Under the jacket is a black tank top that showcase his ribs perfectly, and a pair of leather pants finishes off the look.

“there’s another two, mars and jupiter. they live on the cabin grounds with black and rus, since on paper, they’re part of the fellswap clan.” Sans finishes the introduction and gestures towards the cabin grounds. So those other two monsters are Mars and Jupiter… You’re not sure if you’ll remember this information, but you’ll try your best. For now, though…

“It’s nice to officially meet all of you. I wish we could’ve had more time to get to know eachother, but I want to get to the root of the problem before anything.” You say as calmly as you can. The skeletons straighten up at your words and give you expectant yet worried looks so you continue.

“I don’t know if i’m entirely comfortable with you guys living here. It’s a bit of a pride thing and a bit of bad memories. I wanted to open this place back up eventually, obviously, but as it stands now the lodge isn’t fit for living in. People… Died here, y’know?” You aren’t sure what else to say. You don’t want to elaborate on who died, but by the looks on the monster’s faces, they know who you’re talking about. After a few moments of silence, Sans clears his throat and takes a step towards you.

“i get your concerns, but we’ve been living here for almost two years now. we’ve grown to really like this place and recognize it as our home. is there nothing we could do to convince you to let us stay?” His voice is so low, careful. It sounds like if he puts any more force into it, he’ll break. You hesitantly reach your hand out to grip his, the action somehow familiar. It reminds you of how your grandma would always hold your grandpa whenever he was overwhelmed with work. The thought brings a smile to your face.

“I don’t want to kick you guys out of your home. That would be really selfish of me. But I do ask to be able to come over and check on things every now and then. This was my home for the longest time and I want to be sure it’s still my home when I’m ready to return to it.” At your words, the whole table seems to deflate with relief, at least until Papyrus sits up and gives you a pointed look. Oh right. You’re supposed to ‘punish’ them. Before you can open your mouth again, however, your phone lets out a familiar shrill tone. Your cousin is calling.

“... Excuse me. I gotta answer this.” You stand from your seat and retreat to the kitchen, your phone continuing to let out its shrill whine the entire way. Finally, you reach the privacy of the kitchen and accept the call, sighing dramatically as Richie screams into the reciever.

“COUS!!! The date! Is going! Great! Gosh, Kaiya is amazing. I can’t believe you set this whole thing up.” Richie squeals like a middle school girl gossiping with their best friend.

“Of course. I’m not evil. I just wanted to mess with you a little bit. Anyway~ Thanks for calling, I was in a really awkward situation for a minute there. You’re not gonna believe what I found at the lodge.” You go on to explain the appearance of the skeletons, your cousin gasping and shouting at random intervals throughout your speech. At the end, he’s silent for a while before he softly asks “Are you alright?” And, really? That’s the question of the day.

For once, your calm is failing you. You don’t know these monsters- not really. And they’ve been camping out in your lodge and your cabins for almost two years! Who knows what they’re thinking right now, who knows what their response would’ve been if you’d kicked them out of the lodge! An unfamiliar feeling- Fear, you realize- is making you more jittery than you’ve ever been in your life. Because you’re in a place where bad things have happened. Because you suddenly have ten people who are supposed to complete you- who are supposed to be your other half. And because you have no idea if you’re ready to deal with any of this new information. So you answer your cousin truthfully.

“No. I’m not alright. I’m really overwhelmed, and I’m not sure how to handle all of the information being thrown at me. I just- I just want things to go back to how they were before.” You press out, desperation clinging to your voice. Richie rustles a bit on the other end of the line before his voice comes back to you, stern and comforting. The tone is familiar. Your grandma used to use that tone a lot.

“You can’t go back. The only option in life is to keep pushing forward. I know that it’s a lot harder to do than it sounds, but I believe in you. You’re amazing and you’re going to do great things. You just have to put a bit of effort into it. And because those monsters are your soulmates, I’m sure they’ll help you along the way. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. You have friends and an amazing cousin to help you out! So don’t give up hope! Someone out there really cares about you.” You almost sob at the conviction filling Richie’s voice. He’s never been the supportive friend, but he has always had your back. He’s always been the bravest, the most charismatic, but he never lets people feel down when he’s around. In a way, you really look up to him for that.

“Heh, thanks cous. I’ll remember that. And… Thank you for everything else, too. I really do have an amazing cousin who’s gonna watch my back no matter what. I’m gonna… Go back in there and talk things over. Wish me luck!” You straighten up and say your goodbyes to your cousin, who claims he’s going back to enjoying his date. He also claims he’s gonna get in contact with Coco and tell her to head up to the lodge. You have no doubt he’ll follow through on both of those claims and ready yourself to have a fuming best friend burst through the front door. In the meantime, you have some things to discuss with the bone brigade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Power House
> 
> My birthday is tomorrow!!! I'm super excited! If you guys wanna reach out or if you have any suggestions, feel free to talk to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time!


	27. Power House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coco crashes the party and brings the Cooper squad back into the fray

“I think we need to talk a bit more about this whole soulmate thing.” You announce as you pace back into the dining room. You’d kind of pushed the topic away, caught between not wanting to admit it’s real and being confused as to what exactly it is.

Papyrus is the first one to react, looking at you cautiously as if you might run off at a moment's notice. You think over your words and the delivery of them and realize you might’ve sounded just a tad too aggressive.

“Ahem, I mean, I want to learn more about soulmates, and I want to know what it means, for someone to have ten of them.” You amend, which manages to calm the skeletons down enough for their shoulders to drop. You return to your seat and eye them warily, waiting for one of them to start. They just stare at you, unsure what to do.

A few moments pass in which nothing is said. Maybe they’re waiting for you to tell them what you already know so they can explain the rest? Deciding to roll with that logic, you pipe up with the knowledge you’ve already gathered from being around them and what Coco has told you.

“I first learned about soulmates from my best friend, Coco. She’s been dating a monster named Cooper for a few years now and, on his twenty first birthday, they were unable to see eachother. About a week later, Cooper admitted to being Coco’s soulmate and from there everything just seemed to click for the two. From what i’ve been told, soulmates need to perform a certain act, or go to a certain place, or just do something specific in order to see their counterpart. For you guys, it likely had to do with animal crossing, if the vision Papyrus gave me was anything to go off of.

“Other things to note; monster soulmates go catatonic if they can’t complete their side of the bond in time and my soul tried to rip itself apart when it realized I couldn’t bond with Jupiter and Mars.” You say almost nonchalantly, but the waver in your voice and the slight pang in your chest prevents you from being as calm as you want to be.

“SO HUMANS CAN GO THROUGH IT TOO… I- I’M SORRY YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH THAT. I’M SURE IT WAS PAINFUL.” Blue speaks up, a look of regret on his features. Papyrus also looks remorseful, which confuses you until you look at the timeline of when you met them. Both Blue and Papyrus probably had the longest wait times out of any of the skeletons.

“I’m sorry as well. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody with my inactions, especially not any of you guys.” You apologize and fall into silence. The mood is sombre for a while, bleached in the wake of the revelations. Eventually, the silence gets to Papyrus and he suddenly perks up. 

“BASED ON THE INFORMATION YOU’VE RECEIVED FROM YOUR FRIEND, YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ‘MULTIPLE OF THE SAME SOULMATES’ THING. HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME PERSON, AS I’M SURE YOU’VE GATHERED. STRETCH, EDGE, RUS, JUPITER AND I ARE ALL PAPYRUS WHILE RED, BLUE, AXE, BLACK AND MY BROTHER ARE SANS.” Papyrus explains, which makes sense. They all look like variations of eachother and you know about the whole ‘Five versions of the same group of people’ thing. Still, it’s a little strange that all ten of them made it out of the underground. Even Cooper admitted he probably didn’t survive a couple of the undergrounds.

“I get it. Though, I’m still not sure what exactly completed each of our bonds. I mean, you guys had to meet me through animal crossing to complete your half of the bond, but it’s not clear what I did to complete the connection. You guys wouldn’t happen to have the answers to that, would you?”

“that’s kinda a private thing, doll. sure you want us spouting our soul secrets in front of eachother?” Red asks and you take a moment to think over his words. Humans aren’t as in-tune with their souls as monsters, so revealing what caused a soul bond to form is probably a lot more private than you feel it is.

“Ah, makes sense. I won’t press you guys to share, but I do expect to be told at some point in time. Well, other than that, I’m still kind of confused about what type of relat-” Before you can finish your sentence, a sharp knock at the front door huts you up. Oh right. Coco is coming over, isn’t she?

“... I’m gonna get that.” You decide and bolt for before any of the other skeletons can react. You keep your eyes on the floor but turn your head up when you get to the door. Taking a deep breath to relax your tense muscles, you finally fling the door open to reveal your best friend and - surprisingly- her boyfriend and his double. 

“Hi Coco. Hi Cooper and Cooper’s double. Welcome to… my lodge?” You’re not sure if it still counts as yours considering you haven’t stepped foot in it in two years, and there seem to be other occupants now calling it home. The thought makes your heart hurt so you stop thinking about it in favor of looking your friends over.

Coco is calm and collected, which is a strange look on her. She’s usually glaring or two seconds away from getting into a fight. Cooper, meanwhile, is nervously wringing his hands together. He looks about ready to bolt and glances over his shoulder every now and then as if checking he isn’t being watched. His alternate self is frowning down at you but something tells you he glares at everyone. The way he fiddles with the cuffs of his dress shirt tells you that he’s more nervous than he lets on.

“It’s Cufflink, Cuff for short.” Coopers double tells you and your mind goes blank. Is it… Is it because he dresses so formally? Is that where he got his name? You don’t get the opportunity to question it as Coco grips your shoulders slightly harder than necessary.

“Let’s go have a chat, y/n. Just us two.” She says, then shoos her soulmates into the lodge. You watch them march in like they’ve just been sent to the gallows but don’t get to see what happens next as the door closes firmly behind them.

“First off- are you okay? I know you weren’t planning on entering the lodge this weekend, and… It’s a lot, even for me.” She trails off and looks at the imposing building in front of her. For a second, you swear there are tears in her eyes. She blinks a couple times and the moisture disappears from her eyes.

“I… I don’t know. This was all really unexpected and I just… I don’t know. I want to be mean and selfish. I want to keep my past to myself and I hate that the people in this house have probably seen more of me than I’m really willing to share. But at the same time, it’s been two years. Two years! I should be over it by now. I should be a bigger person and take responsibility for the blessings my grandparents left me. And this is the perfect opportunity to finally be the adult that I am- to get over the trauma that has been shadowing me these past couple of years and finally start healing. I’m just… Not sure that I can do it.”

Coco places her hand on your shoulder and waits until you meet her gaze before offering a gentle smile and opening her arms for a hug. You immediately step into the embrace and let her warmth wash over you.

“I hear you, y/n. You have every right to feel the things you’re feeling right now. You have every right to be selfish, just as much as you have the right to heal, or to keep to yourself. Your life is yours to live, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. That being said, you shouldn’t keep pushing away your past. You’ll need to face it eventually. I think this could be the start to that.” She tells you before pulling away. “But remember, it’s your decision what you do from here on. If you decide to kick them out and walk away, I’ll support you. And I’ll stay by your side until the day comes that you’re finally ready to start healing. That’s what friends are for, right?” She asks with a wink. You give her a watery smile that breaks before it can fully settle on your face.

“There’s another thing… You’re dating Cooper, obviously, but does that apply to Cuff, too? I mean… You don’t seem the type to go for multiple partners at once, but does that even count for two people that are technically the same person? It’s just kind of confusing, y’know?” You sigh and look away but Coco pulls your attention back with a sharp laugh.

“Haha! Oh, no! I’m not dating Cuff. We haven’t known eachother for very long. But we have talked it over and have more or less decided to keep things platonic. If we both agree that a romantic relationship could work, we’ll discuss things with Cooper and go from there. Communication is key to healthy relationships, in my opinion. I won’t do anything the other two are uncomfortable with, and they won’t do anything I’m uncomfortable with, simple as that.” She shrugs, like it’s the most simple thing in the world.

“At least you don’t have to decide between allowing your soulmates to stay in your house or not. It feels like the world is out to make life as hard as possible for me.” You groan and press your head to your friend’s shoulder. She chuckles at your misery and lightly punches your side to get your attention.

“If they run away crying just ‘cause you kicked them out of your place, they aren’t worth it. Anyway, I have a plan to see if they’re good eggs or not. How about you try this out, and if they react deplorably, we kick them to the curb.” Coco offers, a mischievous glint lighting up her features. She hooks your arms together and begins describing her plan as the two of you walk back towards the lodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing supportive friends. It just fills the soul with joy! Anyway~ I'm excited for the next chapter, but it'll have to wait a little because~~
> 
> Both of my wrists have chronic dislocations. It, like, really sucks. I can't write for long periods of time without one or both of them dislocating and causing moderate amounts of pain. Luckily, my mom is a therapist and can but my bones back in place, but she's out most of the time.
> 
> That being said, I still want to continue updating at least once a week, so I've decided to take one of the stories I've had saved for a while and alternate between updating that story and this one every friday. The story is called Toy Pianos and Starlight and you can start reading it [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343198/chapters/66809128)
> 
> Anyways~ if you have any suggestions of questions, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time~


	28. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coco's plan is enacted

“So… yeah. I need you guys to vacate the premises.” You say as you enter the kitchen. The sound of clattering silverware follows your statement and you look to see a wide-eyed Cooper with a plate of overcooked tacos in front of him. He glances from you to Coco, then to the skeleton monsters surrounding him.

Speaking of the skeletons, they all seem shocked at your decision and quickly look between themselves before sadly nodding.

“WE UNDERSTAND, HUMAN. WE HOPE THAT… YOU’LL AT LEAST GIVE US TIME TO PACK OUR THINGS BEFORE WE GO.” Papyrus eyes you warily, as if he’s not sure he can even ask that much. You feel your resolve cracking but the feeling of Coco’s hand in yours keeps the feelings at bay.

“Of course. Take as much time as you need.” The skeletons don’t seem comforted by your words and quietly march away from the table. None of them look back, none of them say a word. From the very beginning they were telling the truth- they wouldn’t force you to let them stay.

“Welp. Looks like they were telling the truth. Let’s go do that thing then we can come back. Cooper, make sure they don’t go anywhere. Cuff, you can do whatever you want.” Coco takes charge as soon as she’s sure the skeletons are gone. In an instant the two of you are back outside. Coco apparently parked her car in the lodge’s parking lot, which makes things a lot easier. In a manner of minutes the two of you are out of the woods surrounding the lodge and on your way back to Ebott city.

*Back at the Lodge*

“WHAT DO YOU THINK MADE THE HUMAN CHANGE THEIR MIND?” Blue asks as he kicks a dirty sock around in his room. Stretch eyes his brother warily, not sure what to say. Even if his bond is completed, he still had the longest wait out of all of the skeletons and his bond is probably damaged, which makes it hard to guess his actions at times.

“they probably just don’t want people looking through their things. old memories and whatnot, y’know?” Stretch subtly moves a cardboard box to the center of his brothers room and watches as it quickly fills up with different books and boxes filled with Blue’s keepsakes.

“imagine you were in their shoes. would you want a bunch of strangers rifling through your room while you’re out?”

“I SUPPOSE NOT, BUT THEY DIDN’T SEEM AS PUT OUT BY THE IDEA AS I WOULD’VE GUESSED. MAYBE THEIR FRIEND TALKED SOME COMMON SENSE INTO THEM. THEY WERE PRETTY NONCHALANT ABOUT THERE BEING TEN SKELTON LIVING ON THEIR PROPERTY FOR UPWARDS OF TWO YEARS.” Blue fidgets with an old action figure, debating whether he’ll need it in whatever new place of dwelling they’ll move into, before gently placing it in a box.

*With Sans and Papyrus*

“c’mon bro, we gotta start packing. delaying the inevitable isn’t a good idea, especially if it’ll make our soulmate uncomfortable.” Sans gently prods his brother who looks close to tears. If it were anyone else who made his brother like this, they would’ve been dead where they stood. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it was you who decided they had to move out, and now Papyrus is spiraling.

“BUT! BUT WHAT IF THEY NEED SOMEONE TO HELP THEM TAKE CARE OF THIS PLACE? WHAT IF THEY NEED HELP REBUILDING A ROOM? WHAT IF… WHAT If They Forget About Me…” A heartbreaking sob slips from the taller skeleton's jaw and Sans is quick to wrap him in a hug. He wishes he had the words to comfort his brother, but he can’t promise anything. Your actions are your own and Sans has no right to take your options away from you.

“you’re too cool to be forgotten, paps.” Sans whispers and pulls his brother closer.

*With Red and Edge*

“THEIR FRIENDS SEEM TO BRING CONFIDENCE TO THEM. PERHAPS WE SHOULD TAKE THEM DOWN FIRST, AND FROM THERE WE CAN BREAK THE HUMAN’S WILL.” Edge ponders, before shaking his head. Red sweats a little but decides that saying anything will probably rile up his brother more.

“NO, NO… THAT WILL ONLY DRAW THEIR IRE. PERHAPS IF I WERE TO BRIBE THEM WITH MY SPECIAL LASAGNA…” As the taller brother resumes scheming, Red can’t help but feel like there’s more to the decision you made earlier. Talking to your friend might yield some results.

*With Cooper and Cuff*

“Do you really think they’re gonna follow through? It’s a big job to do on such short notice…” Cooper worries the ends of his hawiian shirt, much to the annoyance of his counterpart.

“Of course they’ll follow through. This is our soulmate we’re talking about. And your friend is probably more than capable of handling this- it’s their job, after all.” Cuff scoffs but the way his eyes dart to the front door gives away his nerves.

*With Black, Rus, Mars and Jupiter*

“...AND THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON. ANY QUESTIONS?” Black finishes his explanation and eyes the two more unstable brothers before his eyes land on the raised hand of Jupiter. “YES?”

“DOES THIS MEAN WE WON’T BE COMPLETING THE BOND WITH OUR SOULMATE?” The tallest skeleton asks and tilts his head in question. Mars growls at the thought and scratches at his sternum where a new ache is beginning to form.

“I… DO NOT KNOW. THEY WERE QUITE STERN WITH THEIR WORDS, BUT THERE IS A CHANCE THEY WILL AT LEAST COMPLETE THEIR BOND WITH YOU. WE’LL JUST HAVE TO HOPE THEY ARE AS GOOD A HUMAN AS WE HAVE BEEN LEAD TO BELIEVE.” Black sighs and looks at his brother warily. The skeleton has been silent since his first meeting with you, his state almost trancelike. Perhaps he just needs more time to adjust to your presence.

*Back with you*

“Hehe, this is gonna look so good~” You hum as Coco pulls back up to the lodge and pops her trunk.

“Yup. I’m glad you trusted me with this plan. It sets my mind at ease to know that your soulmates are at least a little trustworthy. Now hurry up, I wanna get this done before sundown.” The two of you unload the shopping bags and make your way up the trail to the lodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Roses? In my garden? More likely than you think
> 
> Hm~ I kinda like this new schedule. Little update on my hands; I've gotten some braces to keep them in place and have begun physical therapy to help strengthen them, so things are looking up! If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time~


	29. Roses? In my garden? More likely than you think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Red spends some time in the garden.

“I-I’m sorry, I really don’t know what they were planning.” Cooper stutters and shifts in his spot, trying to escape Red’s overbearing presence.

“but they were planning something, eh?” Red almost sighs in relief at the new information. He had a feeling you weren’t so cruel to kick them out on such short notice, but there’s still the question of why you didn’t tell them it was a trick right away.

By now Cooper has moved to stand behind his double, using the stiff character as a type of shield. Cuff just scoffs but doesn’t move away, content to protect his weaker self, at least for now.

“wait a sec… where are they?” Red asks as he realizes that neither his soulmate nor their best friend are in the house. If he really focuses, he can feel the slight pull in his soul, leading towards the back yard. Now that he’s focused on it, he can feel the content and admiration rippling through his soul in quiet waves, creating a sense of peace despite the tense front he puts on in front of strangers.

With the revelation comes the sudden urge to find what’s making him so calm and happy. It’s almost instinctual, the way he waltzes from the living room to the kitchen, then from the kitchen to the back yard. And there you are, dirt smearing your cheeks and a wide grin on your face as you laugh at something your best friend just said.

You finish patting down the dirt to keep the sprouts you just planted in place, then stand and look towards the back door to the lodge. Red stands there with wide eyes, mouth agape as he stares at your dirt covered figure but you don’t sense any sort of malice from him, just… surprise.

“Hey Red. You’re a bit early to the party, but you’re free to stay around if you’d like. Coco set out some refreshments near the door so help yourself.” You wave your hand towards the green tinted garden furniture near the door that now holds sliced up fruit and a fresh pitcher of lemonade. Red walks towards the setup in a daze, his eyes never leaving your form, leading to the overfilling of his cup. You let out a light chuckle at the sight, which finally snaps the monster from his trance.

“w-what’re you doin’ sweetheart?” Red asks as you turn back to your cart filled with vegetable starts.

“Making you guys a garden. Thought it would be a nice housewarming gift, since I couldn’t make one when you first came. My grandparents would always plant a new fruit or veggie when they would get a new tenant so I thought I’d continue the tradition.”

It’s quiet for a while as you sort through the different plant starts, trying to decide on which fruit should go where and how many of each you should plant. Coco comes from across the little bridge that leads into the garden, a big smile on her face as she holds up a basket filled with different fruits and vegetables she managed to harvest from the full-grown plants you brought to ensure a better harvesting time table.

“We are going to be feasting tonight. Do ya think I could use the kitchen, or should I set up something outside? I don’t wanna overstep or anything…” Coco glances from you to Red who by now has realized that you are in fact not kicking them out of their house. He shakes off his shock and tells Coco that she’s free to use the kitchen which causes a wide smile to split her features.

“Sweet. I still need a few ingredients so I might have to steal some stuff from your fridge… If you aren’t comfortable with that I can send Cooper into town, just say the word.” Once again Red assures your friend that she is free to take whatever she needs and with that, she’s gone. There is the occasional clanging of a pan of the slamming of drawers from the kitchen but it is otherwise quiet.

“I got a plant for you, too. Do you wanna help me find a place to put it?” You ask Red as he fidgets in his place. Not wanting to waste the opportunity to get closer to you and curious about what you could’ve possibly picked for him, Red nods and follows you across the small bridge and into the garden that you’ve spent the past few hours working on.

“I was thinking of lining the area that leads from flowers to herbs with these, since they spend most of their lives as flowers… What do you think?” You ask as you hold up a bag of seeds that smells tangy and familiar. The label reads ‘Mustard’ and Red can’t help the smile that curls his teeth at the thought you remembered his favorite condiment.

“sounds good sweetheart.” He purrs and enjoys the way your cheeks darken from the use of the pet name. Your eyes have a subtle sparkle to them which is only made brighter under the slowly setting sun and Red wonders how he made it so long without knowing you and your smile.

Half an hour passes in which you manage to boss Red into planting a little section of the garden. He wasn’t planning on getting dirty today, but it’s worth it when you accidentally brush up against him while explaining how to properly bury rose bushes. It feels like time slows down when he’s with you, but the reemergence of Coco calling you both inside for dinner tells him that time is in fact going faster than he wants it to.

“Ah, you got some dirt on your cheek.” You mumble just before you make it to the porch leading into the lodge. Red stands frozen as you reach up and brush the piece of earth from his face then grant him with a smile that could cause the core to overheat. He can hardly contain his blush as your fingers linger just a moment longer than necessary, then retreat back to your side.

“Thanks for your help today. I’ll be sure to tell everyone why I was so harsh earlier during dinner. For now, you should go wash up.” With that, you waltz back into the lodge, the sound of your breathy laugh filling Red’s head even as his brother scolds him for trailing dirt through the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Dinner
> 
> Haha this chapter was a lot fluffier than intended, but I think that is o-k, everything considered.
> 
> Also~ Sorry for the late update. I got my wrists reset by my chiropractor and it was really weird to just... not be hurting for once. I'll definitely try to post more often through december but I'm not gonna make any promises. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time~


	30. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you have dinner with your friends

“I should probably start by explaining why I wanted you guys out of the Lodge.” You speak up once all of your soulmates- minus the two who have yet to connect with you- are sat at the table.

“I was looking around earlier and discovered that there are a few places that aren’t in the best condition. The base boards for the house are slightly rotted, I can smell a bit of black mold, and the decor is pretty outdated. To put it shortly, this place isn’t the most liveable.” You give a little shrug and lean back in your seat, which squeaks in agreement with your assessments.

“It’s always been a hope of mine to one day reopen the lodge, to make it as good if not better than what I remember from my childhood. So to have you guys living in these conditions feels wrong. I’m not opposed to you living here but I don’t want you living somewhere that’s not safe.”

“SO… YOU’RE NOT KICKING US OUT?” Blue asks, his voice a little hesitant yet hopeful.

“Not for long. I need to get some mechanics in here to get everything sorted out, but after that, you guys are free to return. Since I’ll be kicking you out of your living area for a bit, though, I got a place for you to live in the meantime.” You tell them and pull out your phone to show them a seaside resort.

“My friend actually owns this building and I asked if I could use a floor for a bit. If you have another place to stay, that’s fine as well, but I thought it would be better to be cautious.” It feels kind of surreal doing this sort of thing. Your grandparents used to do similar actions for their tenants in the past, setting them up with Kaiya’s parents while maintenance was kept at the Lodge. You can’t help but feel a little giddy.

“whoa kid, you really didn’t have to go so far. you could’ve just told us from the beginning. might’ve saved all of us some heartache.” Sans sounds a little nervous, and there’s a noticeable bead of sweat trailing down his cranium. Maybe you shouldn’t have set all of this up without asking them… The feeling of Coco’s hand on your knee soothes the slight anxiety spike and you let out a calming sigh.

“There were other motives for what I did. I’m not going to pretend to be some sort of saint. I wanted to make sure I could trust you guys, so I used this as a sort of test. And, well, you passed, so I’m okay with you staying here.” You tell them and perform a little shrug. Silence is your only answer and you begin to feel a little nervous. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone through with this plan…

“THAT’S ACTUALLY… Pretty Fair. I Would Have Done The Same Thing In Your Shoes. THOUGH NOW I HAVE TO TELL JUPITER AND MARS ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON. I SHALL RETURN IN A FEW MINUTES.” Black stands up and begins to head towards the front door but you rise and stop him.

“I actually have a present for them, separate from the whole temporary living conditions thing. I can’t connect with them because they don’t play, so I got them their own Animal Crossing games. If you could give these to them, I would really appreciate it.” You offer a couple small gift bags to Black who peeks inside before nodding and turning back towards the door. 

After that little exchange Dinner goes smoothly. Red, Sans and Stretch eat Coco’s food like they’ve been starved while Papyrus, Blue and Edge compliment her on her choice of seasoning and occasionally add in what they would change. Vinegar, sprinkles and spaghetti noodles come up more often than not. SInce you’re sitting next to Rus you get the chance to talk with him a bit. He’s mostly silent and eats very slowly, but his presence is calming and your conversations don’t feel forced.

“Ah, it’s getting late. We should probably head out.” Coco says as dinner wraps up. She glances at her soulmates, then outside, then to you.

“You were still planning on staying for another night, right? Do you still want to?” Coco asks, a clear invitation for you to leave earlier than usual. You think on it for a moment before shaking your head ‘no’.

“Since I’m in here anyway, I might as well check out the interior. And it’s too dark to go and pack up my camping stuff, so I’ll do it tomorrow.” Your friend looks a little hesitant but nods her head and begins corralling her soulmates to the front door.

You say your goodbyes then turn around to meet Sans’ eyelights. “So… Anyone up for some animal crossing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Game Night
> 
> Ugh, I was really not into this chapter. I'll probably come back later to edit it or something. Anyway~ I've been doing character sheets on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) so if you wanna check that out, feel free to! Also, if you have nay questions about a character, I'll be happy to answer. 'Till next time~


	31. Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you finish meeting all of your soulmates

It only takes a few minutes to get your switch attached to their wifi and open your gates for your soulmates to start trickling onto your island. It feels different from normal, knowing who you’re playing with as opposed to only having a vague picture of them in your mind’s eye.

Papyrus’ usually cheery character seems almost calmer now that you know how he acts in real life. Blue’s outgoing personality shines through as he compliments all of the new things you’ve added to your island. Edge is the same as ever but you have a new respect for him- he did save you from being harassed at Grillby’s a few weeks ago.

Sans seems almost opposite to his animal crossing counterpart, seeing as though he’s quite lazy in real life but has a lot of fancy and hard to get things on his island. Stretch is the most similar to his animal crossing character, in your opinion, seeing as though both are prone to falling asleep at inopportune times and punning just subtly enough for people to not realize that’s what he’s doing. As for Red, you find that he’s a lot meaner behind a screen, but also more flirty.

Black logs on at some point in time, just to tell you he is helping Mars and Jupiter set up their game and to tell his brother to head home (IMMEDIATELY!). You wave at the taller brother as he slinks out of the house but are surprised as he logs on only a minute later to join the ever-growing meeting happening on your island. It doesn’t take long after that for Black to get back on and tell you to accept the friend requests Mars and Jupiter sent.

The long-awaited meeting is more anti-climactic than you thought it would be. Mostly because the moment your little character locks eyes with Mars and Jupiter’s newly created characters, they stop dead in their tracks. “Are they… okay??” You mumble under your breath as you circle the two slowly swaying characters.

Little did you know that Jupiter and Mars practically threw their switches the moment they felt a connection and bolted from their cabin. They tore through the forest surrounding the Lodge and nearly busted the door down in their attempts to run over as quickly as possible.

You startle at the sound of the front door slamming open and cautiously peek into the living room from the dining room, not sure if you want to face whatever could make such a loud sound. When your eyes catch on Jupiter’s shrunken sockets and Mars’ single glowing orb, however, all thoughts of retreat fly out the window.

“Guys! You- I can see you! And my heart doesn’t hurt! Haha, come here so I can get a better look!” You open your arms in a welcoming gesture and smile widely as Jupiter sprints in for a hug, dragging his brother right along with him. You embrace the two as best you can before pulling back to look them over.

There’s a crater in Mars’ skull that makes you want to reach out and try to… what? Cover it up? Heal it? You’re not a monster, there’s no way a normal human could possibly help him. The rim of his working socket is dented but you can’t be sure why. Otherwise, he looks to be in good health.

Jupiter is incredibly tall; his head practically brushes the roof. His teeth are decorated in braces and a good portion of his face is covered by thick spectacles. Even so you can tell that he’s one of the nicest monsters you’ll ever meet. His smile is wide and his eyes glitter with happiness.

“Have you guys eaten since we last met? There’s still leftovers from dinner, if you’d like some.” You offer the two, who perk up even more at your words. They follow you into the kitchen and watch as you take a couple plates from the fridge, set them in the microwave, then pass them back to be eaten.

“Coco’s one of the best cooks I know so this should be good.” You tell them as you guide them back to the table. They look a little crestfallen at the new information and you tilt your head in question.

“IT’S NOT THAT WE ARE UNGRATEFUL. WE WERE JUST HOPING TO EAT YOUR COOKING.” Jupiter tells you when he notices your furrowed brow.

“Oh. Ah, well… I grew the vegetables, if that counts for anything? I can make breakfast tomorrow, if you’d like.” You offer and move to cover the blush that you’re sure is covering your cheeks.

“NYEHEHEH, THAT SOUNDS LOVELY HUMAN!” Jupiter chuckles before diving into his meal. Mars was already chowing down through the conversation but looks up to send you a wink. O-kay, looks like it’s time to leave before you faint from all of the heat rising to your cheeks.

Unfortunately, the only place you can go is the living room. You can practically feel the basement looking at you, just waiting for you to go down and remember what happened two years ago. You turn your back on the door and pull your switch to your chest, intent on ignoring the door for the rest of the night.

“Hey, do you mind if i steal your tulips?” Red asks suddenly, startling you out of the slight stupor you had fallen into.

“Huh? Oh, I guess you could take some. Just leave the purple ones.” You answer after a few seconds of fumbling.

“i was planning on leaving them black and blue, but whatever you say sweetheart.” It’s in that moment that you realize he was flirting with you. The flush you had been fighting off comes back full-force and you pull your switch up to hide your face.

“Nooo, bad. That was really bad. No tulips for you.” You groan and push the now-chuckling skeleton away.

The rest of the night is filled with laughter, bad pick-up lines and animal crossing. At some point in time Blue and Papyrus came down to ask their brothers for bedtime stories and it was then that you realized that you should probably go to bed, too.

Everyone says their ‘Good Night’s and you walk into your old room. It’s a little musty but you don’t mind as you flop onto your fluffy mattress and fall into a restful sleep. Your dreams are filled with rattling bones and twinkling stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Morning After
> 
> Haha the flirts near the end were completely accidental. Anyway~
> 
> Happy Holidays! If you have any questions or suggestions for future chapters feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) 'Till next time~


	32. Morning  After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you wake up early

You wake up to a soft melody, ticking and clicking as if coming from a music box. The clerestory windows of your room glow softly in the morning light and you can’t help but feel at peace. Grandma should be getting up to make breakfast soon, and Gramps will probably sleep in for a couple more hours. You reach for your phone and stop your alarm before getting out of bed and fixing your sheets. They’re musty; you’ll have to clean them later.

You peek into the drawers under your bed, only to find them empty. What..? Maybe Grandma is already up and decided to do your laundry… The sight of her lantern on your bedside table eases the slight panic that you were feeling. Of course that’s what she’s doing, vigilant as always!

“Right… Well, if she’s going to do my laundry… I’ll just get started on breakfast.” You murmur before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. None of your usual supplies are out, but you find some fresh toiletries under the sink. In a manner of minutes you’re fresh as a daisy and ready for the day.

You reach the second landing and glance at the doors. Each one is filled, each with a single name attached to it. Usually when all of your rooms are filled, everyone is supposed to fend for themselves for meals, but you’re in a good mood this morning, so you decide to make breakfast for the rest of the lodge.

The Lodge is silent as you descend to the living room and turn to make your way into the kitchen. The fridge is fully stocked and you pull out all of the ingredients to make omelettes, since you’re cooking for such a large group of people. It doesn’t take long to fall into the familiar numbness that comes with cooking and soon you have enough gooey egg medleys to set the whole table.

“Grandma! I finished breakfast, you should come up and eat!” You call and peek towards the door that leads to the basement, where your grandpa’s workshop is and the laundry room.

Your gut churns as there is no reply, not even the slam of one of the rickety old machines that you are sure lays down there. The thought that your grandma could’ve fallen  suddenly occurs to you and you rush to the basement door, only hesitating a moment before you wrench it open.

“Grandma?? Are you down here? Did you get locked in again?” You question the black abyss before you. There is no reply. You swallow down the bile rising in your throat and shakily grasp above your head where a dangling light waits to be turned on. The dim light it produces isn’t comforting in the slightest and the nostalgia you had been feeling up to this moment rushes away and is replaced with a foreboding memory of a very familiar situation.

Your feet carry you down the rickety steps that lead further into the basement, but it doesn’t feel like you’re in control of your own body as you reach the furthest possible depth you can in the Lodge. Rather than turn left, into the washroom, where you had initially wanted to go, you turn right. Your Grandpa’s work room is filled with model spaceships and different odds and ends he received from different acquaintances for helping with their work. At least, that’s what you remember from the last time you entered. Over two years ago.

It’s different now, with a bigger work table and different projects strewn about. The largest fixture in the room is a covered machine that looms over your form like a ghost from your past. It kind of is, you suppose, since it was the thing that caused you so much grief.

“ _ WDG-005, a machine built in ancient times, dug up by professor Greenrod on this very mountain. You remember Greenrod, don’t you? He has a daughter around your age. Anyway, the Professor asked me to take care of his machine, maybe spruce it up a bit, see if I can’t find out what it does.”  _ A voice echoes from behind you and you turn quickly, expecting to see your Grandpa in his usual coat, maybe sporting his reading spectacles. Nobody is there.

_ “Are you sure you should be messing with machines you don’t understand? Especially if they date back to… That time. It could be dangerous.” _

_ “Or it could right all of the wrongs of our ancestors. _ ”

You shake the memories from your mind and step forward, only to stop when you kick a random bolt. It bounces away with a few clinks and lands next to an open panel of the machine, and right in the center of a circular scorch mark.

“ _Don’t worry, starlight. It was always meant to be this way. It’s better if we didn’t exist.”_ Your grandpa gives a small smile and grabs his wife's hand. With the other he reaches for a switch on the machine. Your eyes widen as you realize what he is doing and you reach your hand out, but it’s too late. If a puff of smoke, they’re gone.

You collapse to your knees and let out a sob from deep inside your chest. You stare blankly at the scorch marks that marrs the once pristine ground and wonder when the tears will come, not realizing that they already have. Your cheeks are soaked by the time you come back to your senses, and so is the collar of your shirt. The sound of rushing steps sounds from above, signaling that the skeletons are up and have made their way down for breakfast.

You hurriedly dry your face and straighten your clothes before casting one last glance at the work room. With a deep breath you turn away and walk up the steps and into the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Road Trip
> 
> If you have any questions or suggestions for future chapters feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint)! 'Till next time~


	33. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you arrive at the beach resort

Breakfast was eaten in relative silence, which you were grateful for. The skeletons seemed to realize pretty quickly that you weren’t up for conversation and decided not to bring up your red puffy eyes. A chime from your phone brought your attention away from trying to convince Papyrus to let you help with the dishes.

*Kaiya: i got the rooms set up, if you wanna head over. Remind them this is a BEACH resort, so probably bring some swimming suits.

*You: Do skeletons even float in water?

*Kaiya: Guess we’ll find out

“My friend says the rooms are ready, so we can head over whenever you guys are packed.”

“WILL YOU BE COMING WITH US?” Papyrus questions as he puts the last dish in the drying rack.

“Yeah. Somebody’s gotta show you guys around.” You shrug and play with the edges of your jacket, wondering if it’ll be hot enough to swim. It’s been kind of cold lately, but then again, you’ve been up in the mountains for the past few days.

“I’m gonna work in the garden until you guys are ready to go. Please remind everyone that the resort is near the beach, so bringing swimming suits and towels wouldn’t be a bad idea.” With that, you leave, into the familiar calm of your grandparents’ backyard. Sans is already out there when you exit the house. He seems confused about the sudden appearance of plantlife, which makes you chuckle.

“C’mon, Sans, did you really expect me to leave this place filled with weeds?” The skeleton looks up at you for a moment before his cheeks light up blue and a nervous laugh bursts from his mouth.

“don’t know why i expected any less… you really are a miracle worker, aren’t you?” You shrug, then walk over to the peony bush that you’re 98% sure is his.

“I guess you could call me that. What I’m surprised with is this beautiful peony bush! Whoever grew it must’ve gotten some really solid advice.” You joke and gesture to the full blooms. Sans’ blush intensifies before dying down and he gets a goofy smile on his face.

“ ‘course, you’re the one who told me how to grow it, after all.” Suddenly it feels like the sun got twenty percent hotter and you raise your hands to your cheeks, trying to feel if you suddenly have a fever. Sans laughs at your embarrassment before moving on through the yard, trying to scope out what all you managed to plant in a single day.

Before long Blue steps outside with a cute sun hat placed atop his skull and sunglasses taped to the side of his skull. He observes the newly planted vegetables for a while before turning towards you with a wide smile on his face. “THE OTHERS ARE READY! HOW DO YOU WANT TO SPLIT UP?”

“Oh… I thought you guys all had your own vehicles?” The only pair you aren’t sure has their own cars or bikes are Jupiter and Mars, and you would’ve assumed they’d be able to get a ride from their doubles.

“But if anyone needs a ride, or if you guys wanna save gas, i’d be happy to take a few people.” You offer, not noticing the blush dusting Blue’s cheeks. He quickly agrees before turning back into the house, presumably to discuss who will go in which car.

While they discuss you head into your old room and pick up your bag before heading downstairs and out the front door. It’s nostalgic to walk out of the Lodge and take in the sights and sounds of nature. When you get to the parking lot Mars and Jupiter are already standing under the awning, apparently also enjoying the fresh air while they wait for their doubles.

“Hey guys. You ready for this road trip?” Mars’ single eyelight snaps to your form, taking you in for a second before a pleasant smile crosses his features.

“yep, can’t wait. haven’t been to the beach since…” Mars trails off before turning to his brother who perks up and answers Mars’ unspoken question.

“PRETTY MUCH SINCE WE GOT UP HERE. THERE HAVEN’T BEEN TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES, EVERYTHING CONSIDERED.” Jupiter rubs his jaw and you figure he’s talking about their injuries. You give a sympathetic nod before turning to your car and packing your stuff away.

Soon enough the rest of the skeletons come trouncing down the beaten path, each carrying a suitcase in the color that seems to most represent them. A few seem to be racing down the hill, eyes locked on your car, while others meander sadly, like their dog just got kicked. Surprisingly Stretch is the first at your vehicle and quickly claims shotgun while Black and Rus let out silent swears.

“Is this all? You guys realize you’ll be there for a couple weeks, right?” You look over Stretch and Rus’ bags, noticing that they’re very light and hardly hold anything at all. The two shrug but give no further comment. Oh well. You hop into the driver’s seat, but not before Blue comes stumbling over, three suitcases clutched in his arms. He quickly deposits them in your trunk before slamming it shut and diving into the seat behind his brother and next to Rus.

“you made it bro! never thought i’d see you again.” Stretch fake sobs, wiping at his eye sockets jokingly. You let out a silent chuckle at the gesture before shifting your car into gear and puttering down the road towards the base of the mountain.

Papyrus and Edge’s cars come up behind yours and you figure that’s where everyone else is. The descent down the mountain is silent, save for the occasional joke from Stretch or Rus. You occasionally pipe up with a question about the four and eventually your group falls into a game of twenty questions.

“IS IT BLUE?” Blue asks and you shake your head ‘no’.

“is it round?” Stretch. You nod your head.

“DOES IT MAKE A SOUND WHEN IN MOTION?”

“Yep.”

“Is it a wheel?” Rus asks and you nod your head again. The taller skeleton silently cheers in his seat before blushing and turning his head to the side. Unfortunately, there is nowhere to turn for him that isn’t occupied by another person, so he settles his eye lights on his hands.

“YOUR TURN, PAPPY!” Blue shouts, and so the game continues. It takes longer than you realized to get to the beach, but when you notice the crystal water in the distance your mood immediately brightens.

“We’re almost there, guys! See that building over there?” You point to a beige building with aqua accents. It’s the biggest thing you can see, though the surrounding properties seem to be trying to live up to its height. The skeletons also look over and you hear a couple gasps and wondering hums.

You pull up to the front entrance a few minutes later and a man steps up to take your car keys while a young lady goes around back to relieve your trunk of its luggage. The skeletons glance around, mesmerized by the elegant outside decor and the pleasant workers who manage to make small talk with them. Near the front of the building stands Kaiya, recognisable by her usual large boots and larger sunhat. She waves eagerly and rushes forward, meeting you at the large fountain that takes up most of the front of the resort.

“Ms. Greenrod, how do you do?” You question in an overly pompous voice. She giggles at the accent and gives a slight curtsy in return before looking over the skeletons you brought with you.

“I’m quite well, thank you for asking. Might I get some introductions to the lovely young men you brought with you?” She asks, mimicking your tone. You both bust out laughing before you turn and gesture to each skeleton, giving their names in turn.

Once the introductions are over, Kaiya gestures to the building, describing all of the luxuries it provides. The skeletons ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at every turn, though you get the feeling the more lazy of the four are just mimicking their brothers jokingly.

“And here is the floor you and your… doubles? will be staying. The sitting room just ahead should hold all of your luggage, and the others will be brought up shortly. I’m afraid I’ll have to steal your human for a second, just so we can catch up in private for a bit. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask!” Kaiya waves, then grabs your wrist and drags you towards where you know her office to be. There’s already a pot of tea made and two cups set out when you get there and you figure you’re in for a long talk as Kaiya gestures to the seat across from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Tea Time
> 
> Hello everyone, and welcome to Arc 2 of this lovely story, also known as the Beach Resort Arc! For the next few chapters we will be furthering relationships and digging a little more into the lore of this world. This arc should be a lot shorter than the previous one and I plan for it to move a lot quicker this time around. If you guys have any questions or suggestions for future chapters, feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) 'Till next time~


	34. Tea Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you and Kiaya have a talk.

“So… These skeletons. They call themselves your soulmates?” Kaiya asks and gently picks up her teacup. You watch her for a second before nodding. She’s always been a skeptic, but you know she only wants what’s best for those around her.

“Yeah, kind of weird, I know. But they did give me proof- a red string connects our souls and when it’s touched, my Reminisce action starts up on its own.” You clutch at the edges of your grandpa’s jacket, remembering how all Papyrus had to do was flick at the string and suddenly you were thrown back into your memories.

“Huh… Peculiar. And Coco has already proven multiple soulmates are capable of cropping up, even before you knew they were a thing.” Kaiya runs a finger over the rim of her cup before taking a tentative sip. She’s… more reserved than the last time the two of you met. Maybe something happened during her date with Richie.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“And how does all of this make you feel?”

You sigh as you think on her question. Honestly, you’ve thought about it a lot, and you still aren’t sure about your emotions. Do you want to try getting in a relationship with one of your soulmates? With all of them? Would that even be possible? You’ve never cared about how others see you, but it’s still weird to think about strangers on the street watching you walk past with a gaggle of skeletons on your heels.

“I know that I wanna try. I want to get to know them better, and I don’t want to give up on the friendships I’ve made with them. I dunno… Is that selfish of me?” You question and look your friend in the eyes. She seems to mull over your words for a few moments before a bright smile lights up her features.

“Nah, I can’t see how that could be selfish. And I don’t think the monsters will see it that way, either. Tell ya what, why don’t you take a break while your ‘soulmates’ are out here. Get to know them, and come back and tell me how you feel in two weeks. If you like them, then go for it. If you find out you don’t like them, I’ll get them off your back. And if you’re still uncertain, we’ll figure it out from there.” Kaiya finishes her tea and places the cup back on her table before gesturing for you to stand up and walk with her.

“But what about my job- and the lodge! I can’t just drop everything to-” Kaiya cuts you off with a look and you shut your mouth with a snap. Her face smoothes back to its usual kind disposition and she places her hand on your shoulder.

“I’ll handle it. I haven’t seen you take a break since… y’know. Anyway~ This’ll be good for you, even if it doesn’t work out. Now why don’t you head on up and tell the skeletons the good news? I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic.” Kaiya winks before turning on her heel and waltzing away.

You grumble a bit under your breath but eventually realize that she’s right. You really haven’t taken a break in forever, and it would be good to get to know your soulmates better. But that doesn’t mean you have to tell them just yet. 

Humming to yourself, you wander out of the resort and towards the beach to just enjoy the rolling waves. The sun is still high in the sky but you hardly pay it any mind as you stoop down and collect a few shiny shells. Eventually, you step away from the shore and onto the pier to check out the shops and buy a couple trinkets and lunch.

A blue bunny waves you over from a small shop and asks if you’d like to buy some nice cream. Figuring it’s about time to head back, you ask for a couple quarts of the sweet cream and begin the trek back to the resort.

Someone calls your name as you arrive on the correct floor and you look over to see Papyrus waving you over. A few of your other soulmates are gathered around and their eyes light up when you hold up the tubs of nice cream you brought with you. The rest of the day is spent eating ice cream and getting to know the skeletons better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Beach
> 
> Slightly shorter chapter this time around, though I figured it would be better to just get to know Kaiya better without other factors getting in the way. I'll probably add her character template to my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) so y'all can get to know her better. 'Till next time!


	35. Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you and the skeletons head to the beach

You wake up to an unfamiliar room and immediately shoot up, only to calm down when the sterile yet homely decorations make themselves known. Right. You’re at the resort. Kicking off the too-puffy comforter, you make your way to the bathroom attached to your room and run through your morning routine.

After you’re done, you pick up a specialty phone and call in some breakfast for yourself then settle back on your bed. Only a minute later there’s a knock on your door. Huh. That was fast.

“THERE YOU ARE! ARE YOU READY TO GO TO THE BEACH?” Blue’s excited voice reaches your ears and you startle back a couple steps. It’s way too early to be shouting… 

“Um… Not yet? I’m just waiting for my breakfast, then I gotta get a bag together. Are- Is your brother even ready to go?” You question, which makes the excited blue bundle stop and think for a moment.

“PAPPY!!! ARE YOU READY TO GO??” Blue shouts, presumably towards where his brother is.

“yep.” Comes the lazier skeleton’s response. Blue turns back with stars in his eyes, as if he just won an argument.

“CAN WE GO NOW?” You deadpan at the shorter skeleton before sighing and retreating back into your room. You can hear him fidget for a second before he steps into the room and settles on one of the armchairs that decorate the room.

“SO, UM… I’M SURE YOU CAN ALREADY FEEL IT, BUT OUR CONNECTION IS DAMAGED. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOULMATES AREN’T ABLE TO CONNECT FOR A LONG TIME.” Blue pipes up as you pack a bag with the bathing suit you bought yesterday and a couple other necessities you figure you’ll need. You hum in agreement to his statement and gesture for him to continue.

“THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN REALLY DO TO FIX IT EXCEPT SPEND TIME TOGETHER, AND MAYBE ENGAGE IN AN ENCOUNTER TO HELP OUR SOULS RESONATE BETTER.” He suggests, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. You figure ‘resonating’ is what you did with Papyrus the other day. It… Wouldn’t be out of the question to engage Blue in an encounter, but you’re still a bit too tired to think about anything clearly.

“Sure, but later. I still have to get ready and eat breakfast, so why don’t you ask the others to gather their things, and we’ll head out afterwards.” You hum out your suggestion and slowly push the smaller skeleton towards your door. It’s hard to read his face, but you think you might sense some disappointment in his usually cheery features.

“OKAY HUMAN… I’LL BE BACK WHEN EVERYONE IS READY.” Blue gives a goofy salute before turning on his heel and shouting at the next closest monster to get off their lazy coccyx.

It doesn’t take long to get a bag together, but by the time you’re done, there’s another knock at your door. A waiter bustles in and places an array of breakfast foods on your table before taking their leave. As much as you want to savor your meal, you can hear distinct shuffling just past your door, and decide it’s better to hurry up so the guys don’t have to wait too long.

After finishing, you promptly stand up and shove your feet into your shoes, then bustle out of your room to be met with your soulmates, all looking ready and eager to get going.

“Okay guys, it’s only a short walk from here to the beach, so we shouldn’t have to take the cars…” You trail off as a ring sounds from your phone, but ignore it in favor of continuing your speech. “And it seems like there are a few events set up for today, so we should hurry up to make the most of our time.”

A rumble of agreement sounds through the room and before you know it you’re being pushed towards a flight of stairs and towards the main entrance of Kaiya’s resort. You take a moment to peek at your phone and light up at the message left there.

Coco: Was thinkin’ of going on a date with my boo. The beach sounds nice ;)

Of course she would find a way to make sure you’re alright, even while on ‘vacation’. You chuckle a little at her overbearing personality and pocket your phone just in time to avoid getting hit with the front door.

The walk to the beach is mostly silent, with the occasional light banter between brothers or a question being thrown your way. Blue and Papyrus seem happy to pass a ball between the two of them along the walk while their brothers hang around the back of the group keeping an eye on everyone else. Rus appears to be the packhorse, just based on the amount of bags he’s carrying, while Black is luggage free and shouting colorful words towards Edge. For what it’s worth, the taller edgy skeleton is unperturbed by the sharp words being thrown his way and seems more intent on staring at Jupiter and Mars, who are practically glued to your sides. You can’t really see Red from where you’re walking, but you suspect he’s somewhere nearby.

“So, what do you like to do in your free time?” You ask conversationally, and watch as Jupiter stumbles from your sudden questioning.

“WELL! I DO ENJOY COOKING, AND GOING FOR WALKS. AND MAKING PUZZLES AND TRAPS IS ALWAYS A TREAT.” Jupiter seems to mull it over a bit more before deciding on something.

“AND ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T PLAYED TOO MUCH OF IT, ANIMAL CROSSING SEEMS LIKE A FUN GAME.” Something in your chest warms at his words and you smile brightly.

“Ah, really? If you need any help setting up your island, feel free to ask me about it. Not to brag, but my island is pretty nice, and I’ve managed to collect a lot of items to place around.” Just as you’re about to go on a tangent, Papyrus and Blue start cheering and you pull your attention away to see that they’ve reached the water.

Their excitement is practically contagious as both you and Jupiter push your bags off your shoulders and begin running into the water after them. Blue shouts in indignation as you stomp further into the water, accidentally splashing him in the process. You get a mouthful of sea water in retaliations and soon the four of you are in an all-out war.

“Papyrus, get down here! Lemme get on your shoulders!” You whisper-yell at the taller skeleton, who seems confused at your words but complies.

“Jupe, would you be comfortable with Blue being on your back?” You ask as Papyrus stand up straight again, making it so that only your feet are left in the water.

“I SUPPOSE? WHY?” Jupiter questions, even as he crouches for the shorter skeleton to climb on.

“For a chicken fight, my dear skeleton.” All of your soulmates seem confused, so you give them a quick run through of the game. Blues eyelights turn into stars the more you talk, and before you can even finish your explanation, he’s already kicking water your way.

“Hey! I wasn’t done!” You huff, but there’s a bright smile on your face.

“ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR!” Blue claims and sends a particularly powerful wave your way.

“C’mon Papyrus, let’s show them who the true rulers of the sea are.” You claim and soon the four of you are splashing eachother mercilessly. At some point in time, a piece of seaweed gets stuck on Blue’s leg, and everything turns to chaos as he begins screaming and flailing, causing Jupiter to panic in turn. Papyrus, caught off-guard by the other two’s panic, lets you go and into the water. When you resurface, it’s with the other end of the seaweed in hand, and with one small tug, everything suddenly becomes calm.

“MWEHEH… IT APPEARS YOU HAVE BEEN BESTED BY THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE’S MASTER PLAN!” Despite his confident words, Blue still seems embarrassed and suggests you all go back to the shore.

“ARE YOU BUFFOONS FINISHED PLAYING AROUND NOW? IF SO, COME JOIN US FOR THE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT” Edge sneers when you finally make it to the sandy shore.

“I’m actually a little tired from all that messing around, but I’ll be sure to cheer you all on.” You hum, only to stop at the disappointed looks they all give you.

“Er… I guess if there’s an uneven number, I’ll play…” You relent and watch as their expressions immediately light up. It’s worth it, if it keeps smiles on their faces.

By the time you get to where the tournament is being held, the lazier brothers are already in the stands, looking half asleep as the sun beats down on them. That leaves five skeletons willing to play, which means…

“DIBS!!!” Five voices call at once, but it’s Black that reaches you first. He hefts you onto his shoulder and waltzes away, even as the others protest his actions. You’re frozen as you feel sharp phalanges dig into your back, but you’re luckily set down before any sort of panic can set in.

“Are You Alright?” Black questions, his voice quieter than usual. You didn’t think you’d been so obviously tense, but it seems you were wrong. A furrow of worry decorates Blacks brow and you can’t help but chuckle a little.

“I’m fine. Just… Not used to being touched. C’mon, lets get signed up.” You shrug off his worry and continue towards the table where couples are already lining up to take part in the tournament. Black huffs a disbelieving sigh behind you, but otherwise doesn’t comment on your behaviour. Within a manner of moments, you’re signed up and waiting in the wings for the games to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Let The Games Begin
> 
> Hm~ Sorry for the wait everyone. I'm gonna be visiting my sister soon and was packing over the past two days. If you guys have any questions or suggestions for this story feel free to reach out to me on my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/punnypearlpeppermint) 'Till next time~


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